Hermit Crabs 

Pagurid Biology Hermit crabs can always amuse you if you have the time to observe them. Any tidepool should on outer coast should have them. In following I don't distinguish separate species

The popular literature emphasizes the "looking for a home" aspect of their biology. (The video below has an aggressive hermit crab trying to "steal" the snail shell 'house' from another as several fish (sculpins) standby cheering on the aggressor and hoping to get a free meal as the soft inner parts of loser exposed.) Thus the (taxonomic) distinction from "true" crabs who secrete their own carapace (outer armour) and the hermit are emphasized. See the Encarta article on crabs and hermit crabs as good example)

The scientific literature carries this much further--- Several recent papers will illustrate--- see Journal of Crustaceans issue-- where ask questions do hermits prefer certain kinds of shells (in one males and females preferred different species of snails for their shell house.

The Encarta article will give preliminary discussion of planktonic stages. Still I do not find much on this in the literature. It is only when they settle out and start looking for a (small) shell that we begin to take note of hermit crabs.

I will include list links at bottom article 

Experimental Videos---

wrestling match

Low band width; small screen-hard to see details-- RealMedia format 116K

Wide band--much better quality (opens in new page-- use back to return here

-----MOV format 6900 K

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