Crabs, shrimps and shellfish
Identity card
Not Evaluated
From Iceland and Norway as far as Portugal, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea and along the North American coast.
From the seashore to a depth of 140 m.
Between 35 and 100 mm long.
It is a scavenger and feeds on animal corpses and plant debris.
When its shell becomes damaged or too tight, the hermit crab goes in search of a new one.
Juveniles usually choose a periwinkle shell, a gastropod mollusc. Adults prefer the shell of a whelk, which is more suited to their size.
In some countries, it is forbidden to collect shells to avoid depriving hermit crabs of shelter.
Furthermore, as a scavenger, the hermit crab provides a form of health service for the seabed.
The hermit crab lives mainly along the seashore down to a depth of 140 m, on sandy and rocky seabeds and in Zostera meadows (aquatic plants).
Like all decapods, the hermit crab has 10 legs. The three front pairs, including its two claws, are used to move around. Its second-to-last pair of legs is used to hold on to its shell, and its last pair of legs is used to hold on to the central axis of its shell.
Its right claw is larger than the left. It also uses it to block the entrance to its shell when in danger. Furthermore, the hermit crab likes companionship; it sometimes shares the surface of its shell with one or two anemones. Their stinging tentacles act as a deterrent. In return, they feed on their host's food scraps.
The hermit crab has a carapace but it is incomplete; its naked abdomen makes it vulnerable. To protect itself, there is nothing like a gastropod shell into which it crawls backwards.
It is the largest and most common hermit crab in north-western Europe.
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