"The humble hermit crab may famously just want to hunker down in its shell, but life for the most legendary laid-back crustacean turns out to be less relaxing than you might think.
That's because the crabs with the best shells can get bullied into swapping their homes for smaller ones by aggressive neighbours (if you've ever wondered what a hermit crab looks like without a shell, take a look at the video above).
Unlike most crustaceans, hermit crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) have a soft exoskeleton on their abdomen, and will adopt discarded seashells as protection against predators. When there's a short supply, it can lead to fierce competition..."
From
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/nstv/2011/01/crabs-with-abs-force-their-neighbours-to-swap-homes.html and
http://www.neatorama.com/2011/01/20/hermit-crab-eviction/ ...
I wonder if land hermit crabs do this too since I used to have them as pets!
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