Crabs do poo on the beach, but they’re not behind those ‘chocolate sprinkles’ you see. Science explains.

Next time you’re at the beach, take a closer look at the sand beneath your feet as you walk near the low tide line. See those thousands of perfectly round brown pellets piled around tiny holes?

They are not chocolate sprinkles. And they’re not crab droppings either, contrary to popular belief.

The other day during my beach run on Hilton Head’s south end, I noticed the beach was cluttered with thousands of holes and millions of little pellets, with most of them in regular piles, and my mind started racing with questions.

What kind of creature surrounds its little home by its own poo? How come I’ve never seen these creatures before? Is the stuff toxic?

I reached out to our super helpful sources from South Carolina DNR and the Coastal Discovery Museum, who concluded those brown pellets are in fact the feces of ghost shrimp.

This story was originally published March 15, 2017 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Crabs do poo on the beach, but they’re not behind those ‘chocolate sprinkles’ you see. Science explains.."