{
  "id": 302792,
  "title": "Crab Odyssey: Crustacean Wandered the Seas in a Bottle for Months, Scientists Find",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/crab-odyssey-crustacean-wandered-the-seas-in-a-bottle-for-months",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-08T10:00:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "404 Media",
    "slug": "404-media",
    "url": "https://www.404media.co/crab-odyssey-crustacean-wandered-the-seas-in-a-bottle-for-months-scientists-find/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A crab's incredible journey began in 2022, when a female three-spot swimming crab (Portunus sanguinolentus) became trapped inside a plastic bottle containing Shaoxing cooking wine. En route, the crab survived by feasting on juvenile fish within the bottle, consuming a diet of fish remains and green and brown algae. When researchers released the crab, they discovered she had drifted across the ocean's surface for at least two months, her survival echoing the story of Odysseus and his Odyssean trials. The researchers likened her plight to the tale of a salamander trapped in a burrow and the unexpected survival of anacondas in chicken coops, highlighting the unexpected resilience of wildlife.",
  "summary": "Scientists discovered a crab that had spent months at sea stuck in a bottle, subsisting on algae and fish that wandered into its plastic lair. The lonely mariner offers a warning about the impacts of human pollution on wildlife worldwide.",
  "key_points": [
    "Female three-spot swimming crab trapped in plastic bottle in 2022",
    "Crab survived on fish remains, algae for months at sea",
    "Researchers compared crab's journey to Odysseus' epic tale"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Scientists uncover the aluminium shield helping a tiny crustacean survive",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/scientists-uncover-the-aluminium-shield-helping-a-tiny-crustacean",
        "published": "2026-08-08T15:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}