LSC's Animal Interpretation team has a new resident for you to meet: the purple pincher hermit crab!

The purple pincher hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) is a species of land hermit crab native to the West Atlantic and Caribbean and can be found at significant distances from the ocean, foraging in shaded forests. They are excellent climbers, found on hilltops and even up in trees. As land crabs, they are able to breathe air by utilizing a set of modified gills.

Perhaps the most impressive part of life as a purple pincher hermit crab is the annual mass migration these animals make. Each summer, the crabs travel up to 15km to the ocean to release their eggs into the ocean waters. After just two minutes in the water, the crabs return to land and make the long trek home.

Visit the purple pincher hermit crab and learn more about its unique life – from land to ocean – when you join us for one of our animal programs, held daily on the third floor in our Eat and Be Eaten exhibition.

animals,  Eat and Be Eaten,  purple pincher hermit crab