From touchdown dances to victory laps, we all love to bask in the glory after a big win. So do mangrove crabs. After a fierce physical altercation, victorious male crabs sometimes stridulate, planting one claw into the ground and rubbing it vigorously with the other to both visibly and audibly revel in their triumph. But the purpose of this gloating was unclear, as little research has examined the consequences of such victory displays. Now, a new paper in Ethology may have an explanation: rejoicing discourages the losing crabs from attempting a rematch. Continue reading “Crab Gloats After Winning To Discourage Rematches”
