It’s a warm day in late July, and two warriors are locked in a battle for who will be king of a Carribean beach. Suddenly, one of the attackers lunges, grabbing his opponent’s leg and pulling it off! Seconds later, the winner is left standing there, his adversary’s leg still clutched in his pincers. Never fear though, the losing lad has a trick up his sleeve. In eight weeks, he’ll be back, good as new.
What makes losing a leg so casual to this crab? Well, with just a little time and some amazing feats of evolution, once severed limbs will regrow!
Evolution sure has had some amazing tricks up its sleeve. Let’s look a little closer under the shell to see what we can discover, shall we?

Source: Max Pixel
Our most otherworldly dreams are happening all around us every day, thanks to 3.8 billion years of design experience.
Take regenerating limbs as an example. This is a feat most of us can only wish we could do. (Looking at you, Black Knight in Monty Python’s The Holy Grail with your flesh wounds.) But there are creatures who have managed it! We’ve written about the axolotl, who can regenerate everything from their arm to their heart, and the hydra that, well, essentially doesn’t die. And now we’re looking at how the pinching warrior of the beaches repairs itself after a battle.
The brilliant channel, Deep Look, brings us up close and personal with these crabs to see how those new limbs grow!
Deep Look helps us peer into the wonders that are happening beyond our sight. Every episode on their channel will leave you in awe of what’s happening throughout the world every day! You can check out their entire library by clicking here.
Think about your craziest dream and there’s probably a creature out there that can do it.
The world and the creatures who inhabit it with us have been evolving for millions of years in all sorts of environments. And they’ve developed traits that even your favorite superhero would be envious of.
Whether you want to change your appearance, live forever, fly (which we’ve already done a great job doing if you ask me) or regenerate your limbs, all you need to do is look to nature to find it is already happening in real life.
Take these creatures for example:
All of these creatures are out there sporting their skills. We just need to discover them! Because oftentimes, when we look closer, our own lives benefit.
Check out this circle to see how this has happened before:
And you’re going to want to check out this article from CNN about a recent discovery that is one step closer for us to regenerate our own limbs! Or at least, put a stop to that pesky joint pain and arthritis.
Stay open to new possibilities!
- Sam
“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” —Albert Einstein
Meet more of the amazing critters we share this world with!
This planet is full of amazing creatures who live lives that will fascinate you. Click the button below to meet a few of them!
Notes:
- Deep Look. “Whack! Jab! Crack! It’s a Blackback Land Crab Smackdown.” YouTube, Deep Look, 6 Nov. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBMUhG0aEFg&feature=youtu.be. ↩