真•“大”閘蟹 英國驚現15米巨蟹

The seaside town might be famed for its oysters, but this incredible image could soon have visitors flocking to Whistable in the hope of catching Britain's biggest crab.
惠特斯特布爾小鎮或許一直因牡蠣而聞名，但最近因爲一張不可思議的照片，大批遊客蜂擁而至，卻是希望能捕到英國最大的螃蟹。

The photograph, which has been shared online, appears to show a crustacean that is at least 50ft-wide lurking in shallow water.
在這張被上傳至網絡的照片上，一隻至少50英尺（約15米）寬的蟹狀生物潛伏在碼頭附近的潛水水域裏。

While some insist it is proof of 'Crabzilla', others argue that the shadowy figure is nothing more than an unusually-shaped sandbank - or is simply a playful hoax.
雖然有些人堅稱這就是“巨型蜘蛛蟹”，可另一些人確認爲這團模糊的影子只是一處形狀比較怪異的沙洲而已，或者僅僅就是一個惡作劇。

The image shows the outline of a crab in the mouth of the Kent harbour - dwarfing the fishing boats resting on the nearby pier.
這隻出現在肯特港口入海處的巨型蟹，輪廓巨大，令旁邊停在碼頭上的漁船相形見絀。

It is shaped like an edible crab, a species that is commonly found in British water and grows to an average of five inches.
它的形狀就像是平時常吃的那種螃蟹，在英國水域中也經常能見到，一般長到5英寸（約0.13米）大小。

The photograph was posted on a website called Weird Whitstable - an online collection of strange and unusual sightings in the town.
這張照片是被人上傳到了一個叫做“惠特斯特布爾奇聞異事”的網站，這個網站上搜羅的都是一些發生在這個小鎮裏的奇聞異事。

Its curator, Quinton Winter, said that at first he thought the image - sent to him by a follower - showed an unusual sand formation, but that he is now convinced it is a monster of the deep.
該網站的管理者昆頓·溫特說他剛收到網友發來的這張圖片時，以爲是一種不常見的沙洲形狀，但是現在他確信這就是深海里的怪物。

Speaking to the Daily Express, he claimed that he saw the giant creature close to the shore when he took his son crabbing last summer.
昆頓稱他去年夏天帶着兒子去海邊捕蟹的時候就看到了這個巨型生物。

He said: 'At first all I could see was some faint movement, then as it rose from the water I thought, "that’s a funny looking bit of driftwood".
他說：“開始我只看到一些輕微的移動，之後它慢慢從水裏顯露出來時，我還以爲是塊兒浮木，就是樣子有點奇怪。”

'It had glazed blank eyes on stalks, swivelling wildly and it clearly was a massive crab with crushing claws.
“它的觸角上有光亮烏黑的眼睛，粗野地打着轉，顯然是一隻有着破壞力很強的蟹鉗的大傢伙。”

'Before this incident I thought the aerial photo showed an odd-shaped sand bank. Now I know better.'
“如果沒有這樣的經歷，我一定以爲這張航拍的照片就是一處形狀怪異的沙洲，但是現在我知道不是這樣子的。”

The largest known species of crab is the Japanese spider crab, which can measure more than 12ft.
目前世界上已知的最大的螃蟹種類是日本的蜘蛛蟹，據說其身長超過12英尺（約3.66米）。