Key Facts about Hermit Crab
27-01-2024
1 min read
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Overview:
The majority of terrestrial hermit crab species worldwide have used trash as shells, according to a recent study by experts.
About Hermit Crab
- Hermit crabs are small crustaceans that lack a shell and must “borrow” one from another animal.
- They use empty snail shells (e.g., whelk or periwinkle) or other hollow objects as a shelter for partial containment and protection of the body.
- Habitat: Hermit crabs, worldwide in distribution, occur in sandy- or muddy-bottomed marine waters and occasionally on land and in trees.
- Features:
- They can grow up to 6 inches long.
- There are two pairs of antennae and five pairs of legs.
- They are opportunistic scavengers, feeding on anything they can find.
- They have tough pincers but a soft body, which they coil up inside their borrowed shell, using their hooked tail to help them to grip on.
- They molt (shed their skin) and change shells as they grow.
- Despite their name, hermit crabs are social creatures and can live together in pairs or groups.
- They can live for up to 10 years.
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Q1) What are crustaceans?
Crustaceans are invertebrate animals in the phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea, and include the barnacle, crab, crayfish, lobster, shrimp, water flea, and pill bug. Although largely aquatic, a few crustaceans are found in terrestrial habitats. Of the nearly 40,000 aquatic species of crustaceans, only about 10% occur in freshwater habitats.
Source: Majority of land hermit crab species now use trash for shells