The body color of the coconut crab (Birgus latro) is very variable depending on the islands on which it lives. The shades of its shell range from blue violet to orange red but its eyes are always garnet red. Its rostrum is prominent and the side flap of its shell covering its gills is very developed. Its shell sheds each year as it grows, reaching 1.3ft (40cm) around the age of 40. Its average longevity is thirty to fifty years.