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A purple-red Caribbean hermit crab in a white seashell climbing a log.
Photo: ZooFari, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Caribbean Hermit Crab

Coenobita clypeatus

A land-dwelling hermit crab of tropical Atlantic shores that protects its soft body inside a borrowed seashell.

🦀 Crustaceans
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About the Caribbean Hermit Crab

Caribbean hermit crabs, also called land hermit crabs, live near the shoreline in tropical areas of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, and they need both land and water. Their long, curled abdomens are soft, so they protect them with an empty seashell they can pull their whole body into. They are omnivorous scavengers that eat whatever they can find.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Coenobita clypeatus[1]
Diet
Omnivorous scavenger.[1]
Habitat
Near the shoreline, with access to land and water.[1]
Where it lives
Tropical western Atlantic and Caribbean.[1]
Group life
Nocturnal.[1]
Conservation status
Common; not endangered. Not assessed by the IUCN.[1]

Fun facts

  • Hermit crabs move into bigger shells as they grow.[1]
  • They may eat their old exoskeleton after molting.[1]
  • Hermit crabs have been heard croaking.[1]

Vocabulary

crustacean
An animal with a hard outer shell and jointed legs, such as a crab or shrimp.
molt
To shed an old outer covering and grow a new one.
exoskeleton
A hard outer covering that supports and protects an animal's body.
scavenger
An animal that eats dead plants or animals it finds.
nocturnal
Active mainly at night.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Land Hermit Crab.” https://www.sfzoo.org/land-hermit-crab/ (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.