Land Hermit Crab Varieties

The following are some of the better-known species of land hermit crabs. Few of these species apart from the Caribbean land hermit are available as pets, but most species in the genus Coenobita resemble one another very closely, and many of them are likely to have similar care requirements to the Caribbean land hermit.

The most common and easily kept of all the land hermit species, the Caribbean land hermit is native to the Caribbean islands from the Bahamas to Trinidad, as well as southern Florida, Bermuda, and the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. The left pincer is usually much larger and heavier than the right and colored bright purple, while the legs are a dark, reddish-brown in larger adults and bright red in younger specimens. Many of these crabs also have bold purple tints on most of their legs.

The sole species in the genus Birgus, the coconut crab or robber crab, is a large land-dwelling hermit that’s found near coastlines from eastern Africa to the southwestern Pacific. These very active, mostly nocturnal hermit crabs have a large, symmetrical abdomen covered with hard plates. The body is wide, almost oval, and often rough and wrinkled. The claws are large and very strong, with the left usually larger than the right. Color varies from bright reddish-brown with white claws to nearly all black.

Coconut crabs are unique among hermits in that they require shells for only a short period of time before they become hard enough themselves to live without extra protection. They are notorious scavengers that feed on large dead or dying animals. Coconut crabs are named for their ability to pierce the eyes of a coconut to access the meat within, as well as their tendency to build large burrows in protected areas for shelter and to line them with fiber from coconut husks.

Large specimens—coconut crabs typically weigh more than 6 pounds (3 kg)—are dangerous to handle because of their powerful claws, but humans prey upon these crustaceans anyway because of the large amount of oil that develops in their abdomens. As a result, they have become rare in many areas where they were formerly abundant.

Found abundantly from the Gulf of California and Baja California, Mexico, to the Gulf of Peru, the eastern Pacfic land hermit tends to be paler than the Caribbean species—it’s usually yellowish, creamy tan, or grayish brown. The claws and walking legs also have weaker color highlights and never attain the bright purple that Caribbean land hermits can.

The natural history and care requirements of this species are much like the Caribbean species, except that the eastern Pacific land hermit needs salt water to drink and carry over the gills and will not thrive on fresh water.

You may be able to find this species of hermit crab in a pet store, sometimes under the name Ecuadorian land hermits. (They are usually imported from Ecuador.)

This species is common from the coast of East Africa to the islands of the southwestern Pacific. They tend to be brown or chocolate-colored with purplish highlights.

The most unique characteristic of the crying land hermit is a row of closely spaced spines along the upper inner surface of its left pincer. It gets its name for the loud, crying call it produces when it rubs this row of spines against its other legs or its body.

One of the most colorful species of land hermits, the adult strawberry land hermit (also known as the Australian land hermit) has a bright orange-red color on the eyestalks, over the body, and through the legs. Its natural range stretches from Tanzania to the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

This is another species you may be able to find in a pet shop on occasion. The care requirements of a strawberry hermit are similar to those of the Caribbean land hermit.

Similar in structure to the crying land hermit, the Red Sea land hermit is paler in color and has a large tuft of setae, a hairlike, bristly organ, at the lower front edge of the segment before the claw of the right leg. This crab lives almost exclusively in the Red Sea and is the only species of land hermit found in that area.

Countries on the Red Sea export a large number of fish and other marine invertebrates to the aquarium hobby industry. So Red Sea land hermits are occasionally available in pet shops.

This species is often confused with the Caribbean land hermit because the two look very similar. The differences between the round-eyed hermit and the Caribbean are minor: the round-eyed hermit has more cylindrical eyestalks and a wider third leg.

Like other common land hermits, this species has a natural range from the coast of East Africa to the islands of the southwestern Pacific.

Common from East Africa to the western Pacific but absent from the small islands of the southern Pacific, the brown land hermit is most easily distinguished from others by its spotted brown-and-white color. (Most hermit crabs are striped or solid in color.) The brown land hermit also lacks the purple tints on the claws and legs that most other hermits have. Instead, their claws and legs have a solid chocolate-to-dark-brown color.