Hermit crabs are anomuran decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit crab, most of which possess an asymmetric abdomen concealed by a snug-fitting shell. Hermit crabs' soft (non-calcified) abdominal exoskeleton means they must occupy shelter produced by other organisms or risk being defenseless.
The fiddler crab or calling crab may be any of more than one hundred species of semiterrestrial marine crabs in the family Ocypodidae, well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while the females' claws are both the same size. A smaller number of ghost crab and mangrove crab species are also found in the family Ocypodidae. This entire group is composed of small crabs, the largest being slightly over two inches (5 cm) across. Fiddler crabs are found along sea beaches and brackish intertidal mud flats, lagoons, swamps, and various other types of brackish or salt-water wetlands.
The Caribbean hermit crab, also known as the soldier crab, West Atlantic crab, tree crab, or purple pincher, is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Belize, southern Florida, Venezuela, and the West Indies.
The Ecuadorian hermit crab also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as pets, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab.
The Australian land hermit crab is a terrestrial hermit crab species, native to Australia. It is a nocturnal, omnivorous crustacean. They are gregarious and thrive in tropical areas near water.
The Coenobitidae are the family of terrestrial hermit crabs, widely known for their land-living habits as adults. They are found in coastal tropical regions around the world and require access to the ocean to breed.
The genus Coenobita contains 17 species of terrestrial hermit crabs. Several species in this genus are kept as pets.
Strawberry is commonly the cultivated garden strawberry, Fragaria × ananassa.
Coenobita cavipes is a species of land hermit crab native to the eastern parts of Africa, the Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Polynesia, and Micronesia. While these hermit crabs are terrestrial, they prefer to reside near the shores for access of both water and land.
Coenobita rugosus is a species of land hermit crab native to Indonesia, Australia and the east African coast to the south west Pacific.
Coenobita brevimanus is a species of terrestrial hermit crab belonging to the family Coenobitidae, which is composed of coastal living terrestrial hermit crabs. From there it belongs to the genus Coenobita, one of two genera split from the family, which contains sixteen species. The Latin origins of the species name, brevimanus, come from the adjective brevis ("small") and the noun manus ("hands"). It is known as the Indos crab or Indonesian crab because it is primarily distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Pagurus longicarpus, the long-wristed hermit crab, is a common hermit crab found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and the Atlantic coast of Canada.
Pagurus novizealandiae, or the New Zealand hermit crab is a hermit crab of the family Paguridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its body is up to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) wide.
The coconut crab 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. It is found on islands across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as far east as the Gambier Islands, Pitcairn Islands and Caroline Island and as far south as Zanzibar. While its range broadly shadows the distribution of the coconut palm, the coconut crab has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population such as mainland Australia and Madagascar.
Dardanus calidus is a species of hermit crab from the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.
Johngarthia lagostoma is a species of terrestrial crab that lives on Ascension Island and three other islands in the South Atlantic. It grows to a carapace width of 110 mm (4.3 in) on Ascension Island, where it is the largest native land animal. It exists in two distinct colour morphs, one yellow and one purple, with few intermediates. The yellow morph dominates on Ascension Island, while the purple morph is more frequent on Rocas Atoll. The species differs from other Johngarthia species by the form of the third maxilliped.
Dardanus venosus, the starry-eyed crab or stareye crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It occurs in shallow water on the eastern coasts of America from Florida southward to Brazil. It is sometimes kept in reef aquaria.
The thinstripe hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean.
Coenobita scaevola is a species of terrestrial hermit crab from the western Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
Dardanus deformis is a species of nocturnal hermit crab that is found in the Indo-Pacific. Its common name is pale anemone hermit. The species is known to transfer sea anemones from one shell to another when it moves to a different shell. It can be kept in an aquarium.
