Migration of giant spider crabs

Beautiful and creepy: thousands of spider crabs migrate to a bay near Melbourne.

Ever heard of the migration of giant crabs? This massive migration of the immensely large animals happens every year in Australia. Every year there is something special to see off the coast of Melbourne in Port Philip Bay. Hundreds of thousands of Tasmanian giant crabs migrate along the Australian coast to molt every year.

It has been discovered by scientists recently, though it seems it has been an annual ritual in the Australian water for many years. Hundreds of thousands of giant spider crabs migrate to the shallows of the bay to moult their old shells and grow a new exoskeleton.


In the Port Philip Bay near the coast of Melbourne, hundreds of thousands of giant spider crabs migrate to the shallows to moult. They travel in huge numbers to be safe from predators.


The unprecedentedly large giant crabs

The giant spider crab can weigh up to 13 kilograms. While their dorsal shield can reach a width of 46 centimeters. Divers can experience this massive migration. It's more than impressive. And such a swarming crowd is also a bit scary, right? Would you go into the water?

See the migration on a dive

As a diver you can experience this off the coast of Melbourne. A little good planning is useful, but then you can experience a unique migration of animals.

Watch a video on the migration

My Tips

Show all Bucket List Tips on Australia

Read My Tips

all 18 articles on Australia

Show all articles