Broad-Clawed Hermit Crab

Grace Richards

Mrs. Cook Science

November 15, 2015

Broad-Clawed Hermit Crab

Pagurus pollicaris

The Broad-Clawed Hermit Crab can be found in beaches and mud flats all along the Eastern and Western Coasts of North America. They can be recognised by their two pairs of walking legs, larger pair of claws, brownish coloring, and coiled shell. They belong to the Domain Eukaryote, the Kingdom Animalia, the Phylum Arthropoda, and the Class Malacostraca. They are in the Order Decapoda, the Family Paguridae, the Genus Pagurus, and the Species pollicaris. They have bilateral symmetry, which means that they can be cut once down the middle and be equal on both halves of their body, and they are endothermic, or cold-blooded. One of the Broad-Clawed Hermit Crab’s behavioral adaptations is that it they will hide or withdraw into their shells when they feel threatened. A structural adaptation is that they have a soft, coiled abdomen built to fit perfectly into their shells. A functional adaptation is that they will change shells every so often so that they will fit in their shells. Hermit Crabs are heterotrophic, and eat algae, detritus, and other tiny particles.Their predators include Blue Crabs, large snails, and a variety of fish. An interesting fact about Hermit Crabs is that sometimes will steal other Hermit Crabs’ shells while searching for new ones.


cheapeakebay.net
eol.org