Details
Pagurus bernhardus
The common hermit crab is a crustacean of Atlantic and Palearctic coasts and shallow seas. It is a solitary omnivore that protects its soft abdomen in a borrowed shell.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It occurs from intertidal shores to shallow seabeds, using rocky and sandy coastal areas. Empty snail shells are a key resource.
Body length is about 3-10 cm and weight about 5-100 g. The front body is hard, while the twisted soft abdomen fits inside a shell.
It is solitary and treated here as diurnal. As it grows it changes shells, sometimes competing with other hermit crabs for suitable ones.
It is omnivorous, eating algae, dead animals, and small invertebrates. It also helps recycle organic material along coasts.
Females carry eggs on the abdomen and release larvae into the sea. Larvae drift before later settling into bottom life.
Its conservation status is LC. Shortage of suitable shells can affect growth and survival.
