Hairy Hermit Crab (Pagurus spp.)
Hairy Hermit Crab (Pagurus spp.)
Common name: hairy hermit crab
Scientific name: Pagurus spp.
Locations: rocky shores of the intertidal zone
Seasonality: available all year
Color: red - brown
Size: 2” - 3”
Collected: by hand
Quantity: by the each
In this case, it looks like the hairy hermit molted and moved out of his hairy shell into a fur-free one. The hydroids on his body will now most likely colonize the big new shell.
Tidepool Tim says, "This crab's "hair" is really a hydroid colonial organism called "snail fur" (Hydractinia echinata). The hydroid doesn't directly harm the crab, and research is being done to determine the nature of this symbiotic relationship. Hermit crabs are more like little crawfish or lobsters structurally, but they have soft abdomens and live in borrowed shells for protection."
