Home > Invertebrates > Hermit Crabs

Updated 12/2/2024

Arthropoda, Infraorder Anomura

Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs only have a hard exoskeleton on the appendages and must conceal their soft body parts within empty gastropod shells.  They will exchange shells as they grow and may need to fight other crabs to do so.  They are especially active at night and may be seen by the hundreds in shallow tide pools.

 

HAWAII - ENDEMIC

Calcinus pictus 

PAINTED HERMIT CRAB

 

 Calcinus laurentae 

LAURENT'S HERMIT CRAB

 
Ciliopagurus albatrossi

 

ALBATROSS HERMIT CRAB

 

 Aniculus hopperae

HOPPER'S HERMIT CRAB
   

INDO-PACIFIC / HAWAII

Calcinus seurati

SEURAT'S HERMIT CRAB

 

 Calcinus laevimanus

LEFT-HANDED HERMIT CRAB

 
Calcinus latens

HIDDEN or GREEN HERMIT CRAB

 

 Calcinus guamensis

GUAM HERMIT CRAB

 
Calcinus argus

ARGUS HERMIT CRAB

 

 Calcinus isabellae

ISABELLA'S HERMIT CRAB
Calcinus haigae

HAIG'S HERMIT CRAB

 

Pylopaguropsis keijii

KEIJI'S HERMIT CRAB
Ciliopagurus strigatus

CONE SHELL HERMIT CRAB

 

 Aniculus maximus

HAIRY YELLOW HERMIT CRAB
Dardanus deformis

PALE ANEMONE CRAB

 

 Dardanus gemmatus

JEWELED ANEMONE CRAB

 
Dardanus megistos

WHITE-SPOTTED HERMIT CRAB

 

 Dardanus sanguinocarpus

BLOODY HERMIT CRAB

Calcinus revi

WHITE HERMIT CRAB

 

Pagurixus nomurai

 

NOMURA'S HERMIT CRAB
Sympagurus dofleini

DOFLEIN'S HERMIT CRAB

  
   

INDO-PACIFIC

Dardanus lagopodes

DARK KNEE HERMIT CRAB

 

 Dardanus scutellatus

SCALY HERMIT CRAB

WESTERN ATLANTIC

Clibanarius vittatus

GREEN- or THIN-STRIPED HERMIT CRAB

 

 Pagurus annulipes

BANDED DWARF HERMIT CRAB
Paguristes sericeus

BLUE-EYED HERMIT CRAB

 

 Petrochirus diogenes

GIANT HERMIT CRAB
Dardanus fucosus

BAR-EYE HERMIT CRAB

 

 

NORTHEAST PACIFIC

Pagurus beringanus

BERING HERMIT CRAB

 Pagurus caurinus

GREENMARK HERMIT CRAB

 

Pagurus armatus

BLACKEYED HERMIT CRAB

 

 Elassochirus tenuimanus

WIDEHAND HERMIT CRAB

 
Phimochirus californiensis

CALIFORNIA HERMIT CRAB