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A hermit crab emerges from its shell, Coenobita perlatus Outside its shell, the soft, curved abdomen of hermit crabs, such as Pagurus bernhardus, is vulnerable. Hermit crab species range in size and shape, from species only a few millimeters long to Coenobita brevimanus (Indos Crab), which can approach the size of a coconut and live 12–70 years.
The larger hermit crabs have been known to submerge their entire bodies into the sea water. The saltwater is used to bind the shell to the crabs back through the high salinity in the water. [ 6 ] In addition, water in the shell allows for rehydration, wetting the surface of their gills and abdomen which aids in gas exchange, reducing their body ...
Long-wristed hermit crabs are scavenger feeders with a broad diet consisting of detritus, organic material found in ocean surface foam, microcrustaceans and algae. [8] [10] Feeding is performed by scooping sand or other substrate with the chelipeds, ripping and tearing food, and then passing it to the mouth for consumption.
Because the hermit crab lives in the bottom of rock pools and ocean floors, and due to its size, its predator list is long. It is easy prey for the likes of fish, and octopus. [15] Other crabs are also known to eat the smaller and more unprotected species, like the hermit crab, hence the need for shells to protect the soft body.
The coconut crab (Birgus latro) is a terrestrial species of giant hermit crab, and is also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod known, with a weight of up to 4.1 kg (9 lb). The distance from the tip of one leg to the tip of another can be as wide as 1 m (3 ft 3 in).
A Caribbean hermit crab in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. The Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus), also known as the soldier crab, [2] West Atlantic crab, tree crab, or purple pincher (due to the distinctive purple claw), is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Belize, southern Florida, [3] Venezuela, and the West Indies.
The white-spotted hermit crabs are gonochorics, the eggs are carried on the female's abdomen. They also are opportunistic omnivore, mainly feeding on small invertebrates (worms, molluscs, etc.) and they are also reported to feed on holothurians. Commonly these crabs perform a precopulatory courtship ritual. Usually the sperm transfer is indirect.
The availability of empty shells depends on the abundance of the gastropods and hermit crabs, but most importantly on the frequency of organisms that prey on gastropods but leave the shells intact. A hermit crab with a shell which is too tight cannot grow as fast as hermit crabs with well-fitting shells, and is more likely to be eaten.