Discussion
We describe two fatal outcomes following coconut crab
B. latro L. consumption, in two patients having eaten
crustaceans caught at the same time and at the same place
in Mare, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia.
The coconut crab, B. latro L., is traditionally eaten by
native islanders in the Indo-Pacific area. Claws, legs, fleshy parts of the cephalothorax and the oily abdominal sack (the
latter prized as ‘‘foie gras’’ in New Caledonia, ‘‘Paumotu
caviar’’ in Tuamotu Islands, or ‘‘de´ lices de big ball’’ in
Vanuatu), are considered edible parts of the crustacean
(Hashimoto et al., 1968).