Hermit crab

Hermit crabs are anomuran decapod crustaceans of the

superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty Hermit crab
scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile Temporal range:
exoskeletons. [1][2][3] There are over 800 species of hermit crab, Hettangian–Present
most of which possess an asymmetric abdomen concealed by a
PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K PgN
snug-fitting shell. Hermit crabs' non-calcified abdominal
exoskeleton makes their exogenous shelter system obligatory.
Hermit crabs must occupy shelter produced by other organisms, or
risk being defenseless.

The strong association between hermit crabs and their shelters has
significantly influenced their biology. Almost 800 species carry
mobile shelters (most often calcified snail shells); this protective
mobility contributes to the diversity and multitude of crustaceans
found in almost all marine environments. In most species,
development involves metamorphosis from symmetric, free- Dardanus calidus
swimming larvae to morphologically asymmetric, benthic-dwelling,
Scientific classification
shell-seeking crabs. Such physiological and behavioral extremes
facilitate transition to a sheltered lifestyle, revealing the extensive Kingdom: Animalia
evolutionary lengths that led to their superfamily success.
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

Contents Class: Malacostraca

Biological description Order: Decapoda

Environment Infraorder: Anomura
Shells and shell competition
Superfamily: Paguroidea
Development and reproduction
Latreille, 1802
Classification
Families
Fossil record
References Coenobitidae
External links Diogenidae
Paguridae
Biological description Parapaguridae
Parapylochelidae
Most species have long, spirally curved abdomens, which are soft,
unlike the hard, calcified abdomens seen in related crustaceans. The Pylochelidae
vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged Pylojacquesidae
empty seashell carried by the hermit crab, into which its whole body
can retract.[4] Most frequently, hermit crabs use the shells of sea
snails (although the shells of bivalves and scaphopods and even hollow pieces of wood and stone are used by
some species).[5] The tip of the hermit crab's abdomen is adapted to clasp strongly onto the columella of the
snail shell.[6] Most hermit crabs are nocturnal.
 Environment

Hermit crabs can be divided into two groups:[7]

The first group is the marine hermit crabs (with a single

species, Clibanarius fonticola, in freshwater). These crabs
spend most of their lives underwater as aquatic animals, living
in depths of saltwater that range from shallow reefs and
shorelines to deep sea bottoms, rarely leaving the water for
land. As pets, several marine species of hermit crabs are
A hermit crab emerges from its shell
common in the marine aquarium trade. They are commonly
kept in reef fish tanks. They breathe through gills but don't
have to carry around their
water to do so, and most
can survive briefly out of
water as long as their gills
are damp. However, this
ability is not as developed
as it is in land hermit
crabs. A few species do
not use a "mobile home"
and inhabit immobile
structures left by Four hermit crabs in an aquarium
Outside its shell, the soft, curved polychaete worms,
abdomen of hermit crabs, such as vermetid gastropods,
Pagurus bernhardus, is vulnerable.
corals, and sponges.[5]
The second group, the land hermit crabs, spend most of their
life on land as terrestrial species in tropical areas, though even they require access to both
freshwater and saltwater to keep their gills damp or wet to survive and to reproduce. They
belong to the family Coenobitidae. Of the approximately 15 terrestrial species of genus
Coenobita in the world, the following are commonly kept as pets: Caribbean hermit crab
(Coenobita clypeatus), Australian land hermit crab (Coenobita variabilis), and the Ecuadorian
hermit crab (Coenobita compressus). Other species, such as Coenobita brevimanus,
Coenobita rugosus, Coenobita perlatus or Coenobita cavipes, are less common but growing in
availability and popularity as pets.

Shells and shell competition

As hermit crabs grow, they require larger shells. Since suitable intact
gastropod shells are sometimes a limited resource, vigorous
competition often occurs among hermit crabs for shells. The
availability of empty shells at any given place depends on the relative
abundance of gastropods and hermit crabs, matched for size. An
equally important issue is the population of organisms that prey upon
gastropods and leave the shells intact.[8] Hermit crabs kept together
may fight or kill a competitor to gain access to the shell they favour.
However, if the crabs vary significantly in size, the occurrence of
fights over empty shells will decrease or remain nonexistent.[9] Hermit
crabs with too-small shells cannot grow as fast as those with well- Hermit crabs fighting over a shell
fitting shells, and are more likely to be eaten if they cannot retract
completely into the shell.[10]
As the hermit crab grows in size, it must find a larger shell and
abandon the previous one. Several hermit crab species, both terrestrial
and marine, have been observed forming a vacancy chain to exchange
shells.[9] When an individual crab finds a new empty shell it will
leave its own shell and inspect the vacant shell for size. If the shell is
found to be too large, the crab goes back to its own shell and then
waits by the vacant shell for up to 8 hours. As new crabs arrive they
also inspect the shell and, if it is too big, wait with the others, forming
a group of up to 20 individuals, holding onto each other in a line from
the largest to the smallest crab. As soon as a crab arrives that is the
right size for the vacant shell and claims it, leaving its old shell vacant,
then all the crabs in the queue swiftly exchange shells in sequence,
each one moving up to the next size.[11] Hermit crabs often "gang up"
on one of their species with what they perceive to be a better shell,
and pry its shell away from it before competing for it until one takes it
over.[12]
A hermit crab retracted into a shell of
There are cases when sea shells are not available and hermit crabs will
Acanthina punctulata and using its
use alternatives such as tin cans, custom-made shells, or any other
claws to block the entrance
types of debris, which often proves fatal to the hermit crabs (as they
can climb into, but not out of, slippery plastic debris).[13] This can
even create a chain reaction of fatality, because a dead hermit crab
will release a signal to tell others that a shell is available, luring more
hermit crabs to their deaths.

For some larger marine species, supporting one or more sea anemones
on the shell can scare away predators. The sea anemone benefits,
because it is in position to consume fragments of the hermit crab's
meals. Other very close symbiotic relationships are known from
encrusting bryozoans and hermit crabs forming bryoliths.[14]

Development and reproduction

Hermit crab species range in size and shape, from species with a
carapace only a few millimetres long to Coenobita brevimanus, which
can live 12–70 years and can approach the size of a coconut. The
shell-less hermit crab Birgus latro (coconut crab) is the world's largest Play media
terrestrial invertebrate.[15] Several Hermit crabs on the beach at
Amami Ōshima in Japan.
The young develop in stages, with the first two (the nauplius and
protozoea) occurring inside the egg. Most hermit crab larvae hatch at
the third stage, the zoea. In this larval stage, the crab has several long spines, a long, narrow abdomen, and
large fringed antennae. Several zoeal moults are followed by the final larval stage, the megalopa.[16]

Hermit crabs are often seen as a "throwaway pet" that would live only a few months, but species such as
Coenobita clypeatus have a 20-year lifespan if properly treated,[17] and some have lived longer than 32
years.[18][19]

Classification
Hermit crabs are more closely related to squat lobsters and porcelain crabs than they are to true crabs
(Brachyura). However, the relationship of king crabs to the rest of Paguroidea has been a highly contentious
topic. Many studies based on their physical characteristics, genetic information, and combined data
demonstrate the longstanding hypothesis that the king crabs in the family Lithodidae are derived hermit crabs
descended from pagurids and should be classified as a family within Paguroidea.[20][21][22][23] The molecular
data has disproven an alternate view based on morphological arguments that the Lithodidae (king crabs) nest
with the Hapalogastridae in a separate superfamily, Lithodoidea.[24][25] Six families are formally recognized in
the superfamily Paguroidea,[1] containing around 1100 species in total in 120 genera.[2]

Coenobitidae Dana, 1851 – two genera: terrestrial hermit crabs and the coconut crab
Diogenidae Ortmann, 1892 – 20 genera of "left-handed hermit crabs"
Paguridae Latreille, 1802 – 76 genera
Parapaguridae Smith, 1882 – 10 genera
Parapylochelidae Fraaije et al., 2012 – two genera[26]
Pylochelidae Bate, 1888 – 9 genera of "symmetrical hermit crabs"
Pylojacquesidae McLaughlin & Lemaitre, 2001 – two genera

Fossil record
The fossil record of in situ hermit crabs using gastropod shells stretches back to the Late Cretaceous. Before
that time, at least some hermit crabs used ammonites' shells instead, as shown by a specimen of Palaeopagurus
vandenengeli from the Speeton Clay, Yorkshire, UK from the Lower Cretaceous,[27] as well as from the
Upper Jurassic of Russia.[28] The oldest record of the superfamily extends back to the earliest part of the
Jurassic, with the oldest species being Schobertella hoelderi from the late Hettangian of Germany.[29]

References
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External links
Media related to Paguroidea at Wikimedia Commons
Animal Care/Land hermit crab at Wikibooks
Animal Care/Land hermit crab at Wikibooks

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