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The giant hermit crab [1] (Petrochirus diogenes) is a species of marine hermit crab. This species lives in the Caribbean Sea, and often inhabits conch shells. [2] This species of hermit crab is large enough that it can inhabit a fully grown shell of the queen conch. It will attack and eat a conch, thus obtaining a meal and a shell. [3]
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Hermit crabs fighting over a shell A hermit crab retracted into a shell of Acanthina punctulata and using its claws to block the entrance. As hermit crabs grow, they require larger shells. Since suitable intact gastropod shells are sometimes a limited resource, competition often occurs between hermit crabs for shells. The availability of empty ...
The larger hermit crabs have been known to submerge their entire bodies into the sea water. The saltwater is used to bind the shell to the crabs back through the high salinity in the water. [ 6 ] In addition, water in the shell allows for rehydration, wetting the surface of their gills and abdomen which aids in gas exchange, reducing their body ...
The empty shells of the queen conch (Aliger gigas) are often used by this hermit crab, [3] and shells of the Florida horse conch (Triplofusus papillosus), the largest gastropod mollusc in the northern Gulf of Mexico, are favoured by larger individuals, as are the large snails on which this mollusc preys. [2]
The shells of hermit crabs, primarily composed of calcium carbonate, are easily susceptible to a decline in pH. Low pH environments degrade calcium carbonate rapidly, creating a large amount of structural instability within the hermit crab’s primary defense system. Without proper protection from sturdy shells and a decline in the number of ...