Catch A Crab Coloring Page!

They scurry by you on the beach.  They pinch your toes in the shallows. Grab a crab coloring page.

Here's your chance to get even.  Eye 'em and then dye 'em!  Pick your favorite then pigment it with abandon. 

Or better yet draw him swimming in butter.  Or...  Too much? 

Sorry,  I guess I've been in one too many crabby situations.  Years of fighting these feisty fellas has taken a toll on me.  Ever tried to extricate a crab that's clamped his claw shut?

Curse you, crazy crustaceans!  ;)

How to Get Your Free Printable Coloring Page

Ready to color?    Left click on a coloring page and drag it to paint3d or similar.  Color then print .   OR...

Click on the black and white drawing. You'll need a pdf reader to open the coloring page.  Look for the printer icon on the right side(top) of the page. Click on the icon.

Don't have a pdf reader?  Get one free by clicking on the Adobe Acrobat link below.

Coconut Crab

This nightmarish creature stomps around after dark!  Beware if you wash up on an island in the central Pacific or Indian ocean.  These guys might try to make a meal of you!

Coconut crabs are the biggest land-dwelling crab in the world.  They can weigh up to 9 pounds. Yikes!!

This one can be quite a challenge to color.  Believe me, I know!  So, below this guy you'll find some crab coloring pages that won't drive you nuts.

Ghost Crab

As you can see this fellow won't be added to the pot!  Too scrawny and who knows if it's edible anyway.

So now you can enjoy your crab coloring page.   Try painting a smile on the ol' sourpuss!  That'll put the dude with tude  in a better mood. 

He's scuttled back to his burrow instead of ending up on my plate.  Lucky guy!

Kelp Crab Coloring Page

Probably won't have to worry about doing battle on the beach with this guy.  He's known as the graceful kelp crab. 

He likes to hangout in kelp (surprise, bet you didn't see that coming!), eel grass or on pier pilings.

How do you like his decoration/disguise?  He's put some plant parts on him to blend in better.  Clever, eh?

Bring it on!

He's a bit drab.  So if you decide to color him, get creative.   Or maybe go for realism like I did, sorta of. 

Yellowline Arrow Crab

This crab prefers to dwell on or around coral reefs in the Atlantic.  He's a bit of a night owl.  Hides during the day and forages at night.

The yellowline arrow crab is too tiny to be eaten by humans. 

But some people enjoy keeping him in their aquariums. He's said to be interesting to watch.  Plus he helps keep the bottom tidy by eating bits off of it.

Horseshoe Crabs

These strange looking creatures have been around for hundreds of millions of years.  And they look like it!  Hope you get a chance to see them like I did.

Oddly enough, they are incorrectly named.  Not true members of the crab family but they hang out in some of the same spots.

So here are some horseshoe crab coloring pages for you to enjoy.

Oh, look there's been a 15 crab pile up on the beach!  Must have been foggy or something.  Choose the crowd or...

You can color this sad fellow who has no friends to frolic on the beach with.

FYI: These horseshoe crabs are eaten in some parts of the world.  Check out this salad.  Does that photo make your mouth water?

Mangrove Crab

A tree-dwelling crab, who knew?  Not me because they don't live around here.  They do live in Florida, so maybe you knew?

I'm a little creeped out by the thought of crabs in trees.  Tiny crustaceans in the trunks?  Only in mangrove trees, so I guess it's ok.

More fun to color one than to worry about it lurking in the shadows.  Go ahead, it won't pinch!

Red Rock Crab

Camouflaged crab.  Predator protection through fancy striping!  Good luck.

Adults are red without stripes.

If you said YIKES!, when you saw the stripes...here's a crab without dizzying lines!

Hermit Crab

This crab's home has its own security system.  Anemones help keep the bad guys from biting!

You wanna go all the way up there?

Hermit crabs are crafty crustaceans.  They take over discarded shells to protect their soft bodies.  But they need to find larger shells as they grow.

So sometimes they end up waiting in line for the perfect fit. 

Crabs, largest to smallest, wait next to a large shell.  When that shell is claimed, the biggest crab in line takes the newly discarded shell.  Its shell is then claimed by the next biggest crab etc.

Sometimes the hermits take direct action!  The crabs attack and evict a bigger one and take its shell.

When shells run short a crab just has to grab whatever fits! 

There were other videos of crabs making their homes in bottle tops. :(

Ok, so maybe I've been a little too hard on these guys.  If my job was to keep the ocean clean by eating off its floor, I guess I'd be a bit cranky too. Kudos, crabs for doing such a thankless job!

Return to the Home Page.	Back to the Ocean Page for more sea dwellers.	How about a visit to the zoo?

Crab facts sources: Wikipedia, ADW University of Michigan Museum of Zoology website