Blueband Hermit Crab

Aquarium Inhabitant Bio

Pagurus samuelis

Description

A small crab with a "mobile home." Can be identified by a brown-green body with red antennae and bright blue bands near the tips if the legs. Blueband Hermit Crabs will occupy a variety of empty snail shells.

Habitat and distribution

Can commonly be found in the intertidal from Alaska to Baja California.

Diet

A versatile scavenger, hermit crabs feed on most types of algae and decaying organic matter.

Fun Fact

Hermit crabs are able to hold tightly onto their shell with the help of specialized, hook-like appendages on their abdomen called "uropods."