Confused crab wins hearts on the internet: ‘This is the cutest, spikiest, tiniest crab in the world!’

It was absolutely crab-ulous.

Moo Deng, eat your heat out. A fun-size crustacean with a cartoonish face has smitten the internet with enamored viewers dubbing the critter the “cutest crab in the world.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shared a video of the awwww-inspiring crustacean to X, where it amassed over 10.6 million views.

“He looks like he just woke up from an incredible nap,” swooned one viewer. NOAA

“This is the cutest, spikiest, tiniest crab in the world!” the ocean org gushed.

The crab was collected in the Gulf of Mexico last summer during an expedition to gather mesophotic (existing in “middle light” conditions between the brightly lit shallows and the dark depths) and deep-sea coral species for “lab rearing and propagation.”

These missions were enacted to assist the “restoration of seafloor communities in the Gulf of Mexico’s dim middle reaches and its deepest, sunlight-free areas that were harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” NOAA explained.

Accompanying footage shows the spiky, salmon-colored critter in a researcher’s hand, its beady eyes reminiscent of a crab emoji or the “kawaii” mascot for a Japanese seafood restaurant.

X users were enamored with the cutesy crustacean.

“He looks like he just woke up from an incredible nap,” swooned one viewer, while another dubbed it “an adorable little dork.”

“Oh, goody a new cartoon character!” fawned a third.

One user joked, “I can hear it saying, ‘my mom said you guys have to play with me.'”

NOAA scientists speculated that the spiny little blob is a juvenile of a Neolithodes agassizii, a spidery king crab that grows up to several inches long (not including their legs) and resides at depths of between 650 to 6200 feet, according to Science Alert.

This particular specimen hitched a ride up from a depth of 3,477 feet, per NOAA.

These translucent creatures reside in sprawling, muddy flats with little cover, forcing them to resort to sheltering behind other creatures while they — not-so-cutely — scavenge for dead animals, debris and mucus to eat.