There was something different on the beach this morning.

Along the stretch of beach from the Waialae Beach Park to beyond the Kahala Hotel, the sand was littered with hundreds or thousands of what appeared to be small round pink berries, each perhaps 1/4 inch or less in size. It looked like they had been swept up by the wash of the waves.

Here are a few photos. Click on any one to see a larger version.

On closer inspection, the round berries were tiny creatures just starting to unfold themselves. You could see that they had eyes, and you could make out tiny claws. They were baby crabs.

I managed to get one closeup photo of one of the crabs that had emerged. You can now easily make out its claws, legs, and eyes.

A search turned up a couple of prior news stories on similar incidents.

“Thousands of tiny crabs wash onto North Shore beaches,” KHON, May 2, 2017.

“Tiny purple invaders from the deep: Millions of strange pea-sized crabs wash up on Hawaii beach leaving experts baffled,” DailyMail.com, July 19, 2012.

Okay, readers. Can anyone provide additional information on these tiny sea creatures?