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Few Hermit crab species
The hermit crabs are in fact a large super family comprising numerous species belonging to several distinct genera (World Register of Marine Species -WORMS- website). Fossil species have even been found dating back to the Cretaceous (Garassino et al., 2009) and new species are being discovered every year.
They are decapods, meaning they have 5 pairs of legs, the first pair of which has pincers. For most species, this first pair is asymmetrical, with one of the claws larger than the other. The side on which it is located depends on the species.
They generally have a soft abdomen without a carapace (with the exception of the adult coconut crab). Consequently, to protect themselves, they occupy shelters which, for the majority of species, are formed by the shells of other organisms (e.g. gastropods, molluscs) but also sometimes coral, sponges or bamboo (Brown and Edmunds, 2013). Recently, disturbances in their behaviour and the use of anthropogenic plastic waste as shelter have also been observed (Crump et al., 2020; Cunningham et al., 2021; Jagiello et al., 2024). They change their shells regularly, particularly when they grow and moult.
Some species live in symbiosis (a relationship between two organisms in which both parties derive mutual benefits) with sponges and anemones (Antoniadou et al., 2013; Gusmão et al., 2020; Karplus, 2024; Williams and McDermott, 2004) and even corals (Igawa and Kato, 2017). The hermit crab benefits from the protection of the symbiont, while the symbiont benefits from the remains of the hermit crab's meals.
Most hermit crabs are aquatic, but some can live in a humid terrestrial environment, which is often the case for hermit crab species chosen as pets and the coconut crab.
Bibliography / Bibliographie
https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=106687 (Last visit : 07 05 2025)
Antoniadou, C., Vafeiadou, A.-M., and Chintiroglou, C.: Symbiosis of sea anemones and hermit crabs in temperate seas, in: Symbiosis: Evolution, Biology and Ecological Effects, 95–117, 2013.
Brown, D. and Edmunds, P. J.: The hermit crab Calcinus tibicen lives commensally on Millepora spp. in St. John, United States Virgin Islands, Coral Reefs, 32, 127–135, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-012-0948-2, 2013.
Crump, A., Mullens, C., Bethell, E. J., Cunningham, E. M., and Arnott, G.: Microplastics disrupt hermit crab shell selection, Biol. Lett., 16, 20200030, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0030, 2020.
Cunningham, E. M., Mundye, A., Kregting, L., Dick, J. T. A., Crump, A., Riddell, G., and Arnott, G.: Animal contests and microplastics: evidence of disrupted behaviour in hermit crabs Pagurus bernhardus, R. Soc. open sci., 8, 211089, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211089, 2021.
Garassino, A., Angeli, A. D., and Pasini, G.: A new hermit crab (Crustacea, Anomura, Paguroidea) from the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of Lebanon, Atti Soc. it. Sci. nat. Museo civ. Stor. nat. Milano, 150, 215–228, 2009.
Gusmão, L. C., Van Deusen, V., Daly, M., and Rodríguez, E.: Origin and evolution of the symbiosis between sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) and hermit crabs, with additional notes on anemone-gastropod associations, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 148, 106805, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106805, 2020.
Igawa, M. and Kato, M.: A new species of hermit crab, Diogenes heteropsammicola (Crustacea, Decapoda, Anomura, Diogenidae), replaces a mutualistic sipunculan in a walking coral symbiosis, PLoS ONE, 12, e0184311, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0184311, 2017.
Jagiello, Z., Dylewski, Ł., and Szulkin, M.: The plastic homes of hermit crabs in the Anthropocene, Science of The Total Environment, 913, 168959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168959, 2024.
Karplus, I.: The partnerships between hermit crabs and sea anemones: an overview, Symbiosis, 93, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13199-024-00991-7, 2024.
Williams, J. D. and McDermott, J. J.: Hermit crab biocoenoses: a worldwide review of the diversity and natural history of hermit crab associates, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 305, 1–128, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.02.020, 2004.
May 2025
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