A type of marine life you may not normally see when scuba diving, spider crabs are a regular sighting for PADI Diver PT Hirschfield who has been filming their annual aggregations in Victoria, Australia for the past five years.
In all those years of diving with spider crabs, this was the first time PT had finally spotted one in the process of molting its old shell. To add to the excitement, three huge stingrays – waiting for the large orange soft-shelled crab to emerge from its shell.
“From a filming perspective, it wasn’t easy to remain motionless on the cold, sandy bottom for so long during the moulting process (which can take up to 20 mins). I tried to remain calm despite the rising sense of thrill and awe at FINALLY witnessing this miraculous event with my own eyes.“ – PT Hirschfield
Watch as the giant stingray consumes the spider crab.
PT has witnessed and filmed other incredible moments with spider crabs in Victoria, such as the thousand+ Spider Crab Pyramid, and the Spider Crab Migration in 2014.
Having been diagnosed with terminal endometrial cancer, PT finds solace in scuba diving as much as possible. You can follow PT’s journey and on her Pink Tank Scuba blog, Facebook and YouTube.
