About 800 species of crustaceans that protect their soft abdomen in empty snail shells. Most live in the sea, and some live on land.
Quick answers
What is it?Crustacean
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Mostly nocturnal scavengers.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?Sometimes
Common pets, often seen as throwaway ones, yet they can live 15 years or more; the record is 45.
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inOceans
HabitatCoast, Open ocean
ColoursRed, Brown, Orange
SizeTiny
Legs10
Covered inExoskeleton
Lives ingroups
Lives for10–30 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Almost all marine environments; some species live on land.
Did you know
Queues up by size to swap shells in order, each taking the one the last left behind.
The oldest known hermit crab fossil is from the early Jurassic.
Often confused with
- Crab
Unlike most crabs, a hermit crab has a soft abdomen that it protects in a borrowed shell.
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