Perhaps "The Little Mermaid's" Sebastian and all of his kind are not so fond of the sea anymore! In an interesting turn of events, thousands of tiny red tuna crabs have come ashore perhaps to enjoy the sun rays hitting Southern Calif., beaches.

The bizarre phenomenon happened on Sunday, and according to experts this occurrence is not too strange at all because there is an explanation for this.

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Phenomenon experts explained that the red tuna crabs may have decided to go to the shore due to warmer ocean temperatures, the Los Angeles Times has learned.

While the incident isn't deemed too peculiar, many locals enjoyed the spectacle of the beaches looking so strikingly red all thanks to the red tuna crabs

The tuna crabs even appeared as a remarkable red rim—from afar—along the shoreline of several beaches including Huntington Beach, Dana Point, Newport Beach and San Clemente, among others, according to Mercury News.

Interestingly, Marine Safety Lt. Michael Beuerlein said the spectacle in Huntington Beach stood out the most, adding that it was a bittersweet moment for thousands of pelagic red crabs since they generally die once they reach the shore.

Marine Protection Officer Jeremy Frimond explained that the life cycle of the red crabs generally come to a halt once they reach the sand, noting that only a few can survive this situation.

The main reason why the red crabs get stuck at the shore and eventually die is because they don't have enough strength to crawl back into the ocean.

According to experts, the red tuna crabs typically live off the Baja Peninsula of Mexico; however, when ocean water temperatures change, the 1- to 3-inch long red crabs go with the flow to get washed ashore the Orange County beaches because they tend to get attracted to warmer waters that go from the Bearing Sea and extend all the way to Southern Calif., waters.

The crustaceans that graced the Orange County beaches are scientifically called Pleuroncodes planipes. The tiny orange-red crabs typically resemble small crawfish, as per The Monitor Daily.

Aside from the interesting red rim the red tuna crabs form along the shoreline, locals and beachgoers also enjoy this phenomenon because they can snatch up viable ones and cook them at home.

Not only that, shorebirds that usually struggle to look for crabs to eat can enjoy a buffet of these crustaceans at least for now. 

TagsRed Tuna Crabs, Southern California Beaches, Science, Pelagic Red Crabs