This is what a crab looks like when it decides to carry a weapon on every square millimetre of its body. Meet the armed wool ball crab — Doclea armata, a member of the spider crab family, and the more aggressive-looking cousin of the sheep's wool ball crab. Where the sheep crab hides behind a shaggy coat of fur, this one hides behind nothing at all: it simply bristles. Look at it closely and you will see why it is called "armed": The carapace, pale ivory and cream, is covered in dense, sharp spines — standing upright like a field of tiny spears. Between the spines, the surface is studded with raised, wart-like tubercles — armour over armour. Even the margins of the shell carry long, projecting spines, like a shield with teeth. The long, slender walking legs are tipped in the palest pink — an almost delicate accent on an otherwise fully weaponised crab. This specimen is the de-furred edition, prepared the traditional way: gutted, posed, and naturally air-dried, with the full body intact and every leg spread and arranged. The fur coat that spider crabs grow in life has been carefully removed, revealing the spined carapace underneath in complete detail — the way museum specimens are prepared when the shell is the story. Spider crabs like this one are the decorators of the seabed. In life, they use their long legs to cover themselves in seaweed, sponges, and anemones — walking camouflaged piles of garden. Even armed to the teeth, they prefer to disappear. With a leg span of 11 cm or more, and a carapace of 4 cm, this is a substantial, commanding specimen — the kind that sits on a natural history shelf and stops conversations. Whether you are a collector of crustacean specimens, a student of marine biology, or simply someone who loves the strange and beautiful corners of the natural world — this armed wool ball crab is more than a dried shell. It is a small, preserved piece of the Indo-Pacific seabed, ready to be displayed. Specifications: Type: Naturally dried crustacean specimen, whole body, de-furred Species: Doclea armata (armed wool ball crab ) Leg span: 11 cm or more Carapace: 4 cm or more Preparation: Gutted, posed, naturally air-dried, full body intact Habitat: Sandy and muddy seabeds, estuaries, Indo-Pacific Features: Densely spined ivory carapace with tubercles, marginal spines, long slender pink-tipped legs Frame: None (specimen only) Style: Natural history / curiosities / marine biology Condition: Excellent, professionally dried and preserved It is a crab that armed itself to the teeth, then spent its life hiding under a garden. You get to display it.