Denizens of saltmarsh edges, Mudflat Fiddler Crabs (Uca rapax) are excavators extraordinaire. Much of their lifestory is evident in the landscaping outside their burrows. Scritches in the sandy mud form when they claw up and ingest the soil. After siphoning out any organic matter, they roll up the leftover sediment and spit it out in little balls. The larger balls in the photo are the byproduct of burrow expansion.

Sadly, I didn’t see the crab so I couldn’t tell you the sex of the burrow owner (while female claws are both the same size, males have one enlarged claw called a chela). A male attracts a mate by waving his big appendage around. No correlation to the human male. Nope, none at all.