The "crab" in the rocks and (inset) in close up

The picture, when blown up, shows a shape that even appears to have ten limbs like crabs on Earth.

In the shots taken by the NASA Mars Curiosity Rover it is seen appearing to lurk in a crevice among rocks on the Red Planet.

The rover, a remotely controlled four-wheel drive ground based space probe, is currently exploring the surface of Mars taking close up pictures and samples.

It is the latest in a long line of Earthly objects found by UFO researchers in close-up images beamed back by the Rover from Mars.

There have been pyramids, stone faces, ancient ruins, statues, and even a Martian Mount Rushmore in pictures posted by NASA online in recent weeks.

One viewer of the image on YouTube posted: "I find it odd that the surrounding rock looks nothing like the image in question, as well as the shape of the image, it really stands out from the other rocks around it in color and shape.

"It almost looks non natural, you would think that something else would stand out even if shaped differently, but it's the only rock that looks completely out of place."