Hermit Crab

ocean · crustacean · shell collector

Borrowed homes. Hermit crabs don't grow their own hard shells. Instead, they squeeze into empty snail shells left behind by other creatures.

Soft and squishy. Their belly is soft and not protected by a hard exoskeleton, so they need a borrowed shell to stay safe.

Lots of cousins. There are over 800 different species of hermit crabs living around the world.

Twisty tummy. Most hermit crabs have a curled, lopsided abdomen that fits snugly into the spiral of a snail shell.