Experts propose horrifying theory that long-lost adventurer Amelia Earhart was eaten by 'world's largest crabs'

Experts have come up with a horrifying theory about what may ultimately have happened to pilot Amelia Earhart.

Earhart is known for her daring adventures as an aviator, but infamously on her last flight she disappeared without a trace.

While it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Earhart most likely crashed and died on her adventure, the exact circumstances around her disappearance remain a mystery.

Earhart vanished on July 2, 1937 along with her navigator Fred Noonan.

The aviator had been attempting to become the first woman to circumnavigate the globe by plane, and they had been flying on the pacific leg of their journey when disaster struck.

Even today nobody has been able to locate anything which might be the remains of her plane, despite some potential leads.

But while exactly what went wrong remains a mystery, some experts have come up with a rather grisly notion of her final fate.

Amelia Earhart disappeared trying to circumnavigate the globe. (Bettmann / Contributor/Getty)

The area in which Earhart and Noonan disappeared is inhabited by many animals.

While the majority are marine animals, there is one species of crab in the area of the Pacific which does not live in the ocean.

In fact, it is the largest kind of land-based crab in the world.

The species is widely known for its enormous size and crushing claws, with many people terrified by how large and heavy the crab is.

This is of course the Coconut crab.

Believe it or not, Coconut crabs are actually an enormous type of Hermit Crab.

They live entirely on land, and once they reach adulthood will drown if submerged in water for too long.

But what about their diet?

Coconut Crabs are widespread in the Pacific. (Martin Harvey / Getty)

Well, Coconut Crabs mostly feed on fruits, nuts, and seeds, but if we're really getting into it their diet actually consists of anything they can get their claws on.

While they are mostly vegetarian, that's only because fruit can't run away from them.

Not to put too fine a point on it, like many animals including deer and rabbits, they are opportunistic carnivores.

So if there is a carcass of something lying around then they will absolutely tuck into it without a second thought.

And the experts think that unfortunately this might have included the body of ill-fated aviator Amelia Earhart following her disappearance.

If Earhart crashed on land then it's certainly plausible that the crabs would have found her.

Regardless, it's extremely unlikely that Earhart herself will ever be found, though there could still be some chance of her plane being rediscovered.