Flat-clawed hermit crab
Encyclopedia
Pagurus pollicaris is a hermit crab
commonly found along the Atlantic coast of North America
from New Brunswick
to the Gulf of Mexico
. It is known by a number of common name
s, including gray hermit crab, flat-clawed hermit crab, flatclaw hermit crab, shield hermit crab, thumb-clawed hermit crab, broad-clawed hermit crab, and warty hermit crab.
P. pollicaris inhabits the shells
of shark eye snails and whelk
s. It grows to a length of 31 millimetres (1.2 in) and a width of 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in). The shell is often shared by the commensal
zebra flatworm (Stylochus ellipticus).
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.
Hermit crab
Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
commonly found along the Atlantic coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
from New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
to the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. It is known by a number of common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
s, including gray hermit crab, flat-clawed hermit crab, flatclaw hermit crab, shield hermit crab, thumb-clawed hermit crab, broad-clawed hermit crab, and warty hermit crab.
P. pollicaris inhabits the shells
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
of shark eye snails and whelk
Whelk
Whelk, also spelled welk or even "wilks", is a common name used to mean one or more kinds of sea snail. The species, genera and families referred to using this common name vary a great deal from one geographic area to another...
s. It grows to a length of 31 millimetres (1.2 in) and a width of 25 mm (0.984251968503937 in). The shell is often shared by the commensal
Commensalism
In ecology, commensalism is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral...
zebra flatworm (Stylochus ellipticus).
The diet of the flat-clawed hermit crab comprises organic matter, algae, and sometimes other hermit crabs. Fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
are the most important predators of this species.