Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs are members of the large invertebrate Phylum Arthropoda which includes crabs, as well as the land-dwelling insects, and many other groups. Like all arthropods, hermit crabs have jointed limbs and segmented bodies. As members of the Subphylum Crustacea, the most prominant arthropod group in the ocean. Hermit crabs share several features with their closest relatives, the shrimp, lobsters, and true crabs: they all have three body regions, a head, thorax (mid-body), and abdomen; 2 …

…they drop to the seafloor and transform into their bottom dwelling form and must immediately find a small snail shell for protection. Hermit crabs are omnivorous, feeding on both plant and animal materials. They are also scavengers, eating whatever they can find laying on the ocean floor. Despite the protection of their borrowed shells, they are preyed upon by larger hermit crabs, box crabs, octopus, as well as fishes with jaws for crushing shelled invertebrates.