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Heikegani in Cosmos by Carl Sagan

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Heikegani (平家蟹, ヘイケガニ) is a species of crab native to Japan, with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face. It is locally believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the spirits of the Heike warriors defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in the Heike Monogatari ("The Tale of the Heike"). The pattern of ridges on the carapace serves a very functional purpose as sites of muscle attachment. Similar patterns are found on species in many parts of the world, including fossilized remains.Heikegani were used by Carl Sagan in his popular science television show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage as an example of unintentional artificial selection. However, some experts have questioned this. The story goes that the crabs with shells resembling Samurai were thrown back, while those not resembling Samurai were eaten, giving the former a greater chance of reproducing. [1] However, the maximum width of adult heikegani crabs is only about 30 mm (1.2 inches), so some fishermen throw these crabs back into the sea regardless of appearance. But smaller specimens may have been eaten in the past, before mass fishing. It is difficult to know for sure how much of the crab's shape and quantity has been dictated by artificial selection. (Wikipedia)

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm
Author: newgusita

Length: 07:49
Rating: 4.88
Views: 22866

Tags: carl  cosmos  crab  heikegani  sagan  

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Video Comments

joesubaruson (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
Classy Heike women started the business.
Fishroads (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
what has an Oiran to do with the Heike legend?theres an high rank prostitute (oiran) in this documentation
54spiritedwill54 (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
crab meat, mmmm
ryanseeley99 (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
great story
fatmeteor (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
nice
mrzisme (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
To Cypheir: The problem isnt that they might aim at us, the problem is their existence in the first place. So what if we got nuked without retaliating, they're still screwed. If the US gets nuked, it effects the entire world, nuclear winter prevents crop growth around the world, u cut the food supply you kill yourself. Regardless whether or not you were the one under fire or half way around the earth. Thats the problem. Its not a finger pointing game, if 1 exists, we all lose.
mrzisme (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
What? Aiming at us? Oh you must mean all the weapons of mass destruction we found in Iraq.... wait nvm... Oh you must mean the WMD's in Iran that they have a hunch might exist. Nevermind the fact that we, the United States, have over 10,000 active nuclear weapons, but because we attempt to police the world, we dont have to apply the standards we enforce on others to ourselves.
cypheir (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
ummm... dude, the problem is, theyre aiming at us... not eachother
spawnfan101 (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
I agree, it's an interesting legend imo
dwringer (December 31, 1969 at 6:59 pm)
That'd be a valid criticism, if this hadn't been going on for centuries. Just because the modern economy requires all such crabs to be cast back into the sea does not even come close to indicating that this was the case in prior generations.

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