Fiddler Crabs

The tide goes out and the mud comes alive with tiny crustaceans - fiddler crabs. From the boardwalk at Charles Towne Landing in South Carolina, they look like minute bits of flotsam but then their movement gives them away.

I use the zoom on my camera to get a better view. The one at the left gives the impression that he knew he was being watched!

They seem to keep their distance from their neighbors but move around their domain in the muck at peace with their fellow crab. One wonders how they perceive the world and recognize their use as models for aliens. If there were not so small they would be scary.