A remote-controlled undersea robot probe from the University of Tokyo has captured images of thousands of red queen crabs that appear to show the species has a far higher population density than previously known, researchers said.
The army of crabs, known locally as "beni-zuwai-gani," was found on the bottom of the sea 40 km off Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture. In one place, about 3,300 of them were found in a cluster about 1,000 meters deep, the research team headed by professor Tamaki Ura said.