Have you ever caught a hermit crab at a beach? Did you notice that not all claws look the same? Many people may not know that there are two main types of these crabs found on the beaches of Massachusetts.
The first is the long-clawed hermit crab, the smaller of the two, growing between half an inch and 1 inch long. They have long eye stalks and claws and can live five to 10 years in the wild. The second is the broad-clawed hermit crab, which has unevenly sized flat claws and can grow up to 2 inches long. Their claws act as a shield for their shell from predators. This species typically lives up to three years in the wild.
You may wonder how hermit crabs impact our ecosystems. Hermit crabs are omnivores, eating both plants and animals. These creatures are also scavengers, foraging for dead animals, plants and other decaying material on the ocean floor.
They do a great job keeping our oceans clean, and other marine life benefit from them. Many creatures are “paguroid hosts,” or live on the shells of hermit crabs. Some of these animals include sea anemones, slipper shells and barnacles.
Another cool fact about hermit crabs is that they are not connected to their shell. When they grow, they need to upgrade their shells to bigger ones. When a bigger shell appears, hermit crabs will create a “vacancy chain,” where the biggest crab will move into the largest shell, freeing up the rest of the shells. The remaining crabs will line up from smallest to biggest to swap and try on their new shells.
Unfortunately, due to pollution, hermit crabs sometimes will seek out plastic, such as bottle caps, and can become trapped. It’s important to be mindful of not leaving a footprint when outdoors and to practice “Leave No Trace” principles by packing out all waste, respecting wildlife, staying on designated trails and leaving natural areas as you found them. Also, it’s important to return seashells to beaches to ensure these animals can have future homes. If you do take a shell home, be sure to look in the shell to be extra sure you are not taking any hermit friends home.
By Bailey Sweet