For those carnivores among our readers who only think of crab cakes and crab burgers when hearing the word “crab,” consider this: Crabs are also artists. Yes, these humble crustaceans with the funny walking style make beautiful pictures out of sand. We’ve all seen them. Time to inspect how and why of this mysterious art works.

Crabs can be found in all the oceans around the world and one particular family, namely the sand bubbler crab (Dotilla fenestrate), are especially familiar because most of us will have admired their intricate artworks made out of little sand balls at a visit to the beach.

Sand bubblers can be found along the shores of the Indian and Pacific Oceans but also at beaches from East Africa to Hawaii, especially along Asian and Australian coastlines.