Lavender Hermit Crab

The lavender hermit crab is pretty in purple! It may be small, measuring only 1-2cm in size, but the lavender hermit crab is still an important scavenger and detritivore, eating dead organisms and decaying organic matter on the intertidal zone. Interestingly, when withdrawing into its shell, the lavender hermit crab tends to use its massively oversized left pincer to cover its shell opening, perhaps to defend itself when it feels threatened!

As hermit crabs do not make their own shell, they use empty shells on the intertidal zone as a home to protect themselves against predators. Thus, even small shells are indispensable to tiny hermit crabs such as the lavender hermit crab. So, please don’t bring home shells from the shore even if they look pretty!