The monster crab was hauled on board a boat off the coast of Kerry

A spider-like giant box crab with a leg span of six feet has been found alive after wandering into the nets of a Kerry fisherman.

The monster crab, which normally lives down nearly two miles below the surface in the depths of the Porcupine Trough, was hauled on board the Culín boat this week by fisherman Gary Brosnan.

The extremely rare species, which is now residing in a cold water tank in Dingle Oceanworld, has been nicknamed Arachnid due to its resemblance to a giant spider.

It is understood he is only the tenth of his kind which have been brought up in fishing nets in Ireland.

The director of Dingle Oceanworld, Kevin Flannery, said the monster crab is settling in at the aquarium.

He said: “It’s still alive. He’s will be kept in the aquarium. It’s the only one in the country. They are very rare. “He’s all arms. We’re nicknaming him Arachnid because he looks quite like a spider.”

A 6ft span Monster spider-like crab creature – nicknamed Arachnid (Image: Domnick Walsh)

He said the crab, which is also being cared for by marine biologist, Dr. Grace Flannery, is already displaying its quirky habit of trying to camouflage itself with seaweed.

“They have an unusual trait of getting weeds up on their two back legs so they camouflage themselves.

“It’s something they developed down in nature in the deep.”

The leading marine biologist said crab which measures the length of a human are extremely rare in Ireland.

He said: “They are a kind of a monster crab.

“To see anything this size is extremely unusual. I’ve only seen a few of them in my lifetime. We don’t have deep water crab fisheries like they have on the Deadliest Catch.

“We’re keeping him in a cold water ocean tank and we’ll maintain the temperature at around five or six degrees.

It is now being cared for by Kevin Flannery marine biologist, and Dr. Grace Flannery marine biologist, and from Dingle Ocean World (Image: Domnick Walsh)

“Hopefully the poor divil will survive.”

He said the massive specimen was hauled in off Sybil Head southwest of the Blasket Islands this week.

He said: “They are usually found way off deep off the Porcupine Trough.

“They are a deep water crab with very long legs. They have evolved so the pressure doesn’t get them. If they were inshore they wouldn’t be able to carry their body, they are like a spider with big long legs but they need the deep water pressure to survive.

“But this fella obviously wandered in.”

He said the crab could have wandered off course during the mating season.

“You have the mating thing going so they would be wondering and chasing females.

“The size of this crab – you just don’t get them here.

“”Irish fishermen would love it if they were out there commercially.

“The nearest thing to this crab would be like the Japanese King Crab.”

He joked that the crab’s two metre leg span is perfect for social distancing.

He said: “He would put the fear of life into any person not observing social distancing!”

But he doesn’t believe the public will be able to see the creature form the deep anytime soon due to the lockdown.