ALIEN-LOOKING monster crabs with a metre long claw-span arrived in the county yesterday.

Nine Japanese spider crabs found a home at the Scarborough Sea Life Centre.

"Even though they can spread their claws as wide as I can stretch my arms, they're actually just babies," said curator Paul Bullimore.

"A fully grown Japanese spider crab in the wild can have a three-metre span. That's big enough to straddle the average family saloon car with room to spare."

The crabs are to be star attractions in a display called Claws, which will also house tropical hermit crabs, horseshoe crabs and bizarre decorator crabs among others.