Dead crabs wash ashore by thousands in England

The Huffington Post:

As if thousands of dead birds falling from the sky and millions of fish turning up dead across the world in the last week weren't enough, the Thanet Coast in the UK is now littered with tens of thousands of dead crabs that have washed ashore.

The events are likely unrelated, however, and the BBC notes that this is the third year in a row thousands of dead devil crabs, also known as velvet swimming crabs, have turned up on the coastline near Kent, England. It is estimated that 40,000 of the dead crabs have washed up on the beaches this year.

According to LiveScience, experts believe cold weather is to blame for the massive crab deaths. Tests conducted in past years have turned up no results for disease or similar problems, leaving the cause an unexplained mystery, though hypothermia is conjectured.

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