Heikegani
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| phylum | Arthropoda | Heikegani (Literal meaning: Heike Crab) is a species of crab native to Japan, with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face which is interpreted to be the face of an angry samurai hence the nickname samurai crab. The crabs are named after the once powerful Taira clan which dominated medieval Japan, commonly known as the Heike. It is believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the Heike warriors defeated at the naval Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in The Tale of the Heike. While the crabs are edible, they are not eaten by most Japanese.
For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Crab |
| subphylum | Crustacea | |
| class | Malacostraca | |
| order | Decapoda | |
| infraorder | Brachyura | |
| family | Dorippidae | |
| species | Heikeopsis japonica |
