Flat-clawed hermit crab
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| Flat-clawed hermit crab | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pagurus pollicaris Say, 1817 |
The flat-clawed hermit crab (Pagurus pollicaris) is a hermit crab commonly found along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. It inhabits discarded snail shells, to which hermit crab anemones sometimes attach. It occurs on all types of substrate, and is often found on the mud flats at low tide. The adult flat-clawed hermit crab is typically 1.25 inches (32 mm) long, one inch (25 mm) wide, oblong, whitish or pale tan gray, with brown eye-stalks.
The diet of the flat-clawed hermit crab comprises organic matter, algae, and sometimes other hermit crabs. Fish are the most important predators of this species.