The behavior of hiding molted shells has not been documented in any crustacean. The White-spotted hermit crab (Dardanus megistos) inhabiting tropical coral reefs has a unique molt behavior in which it hides its outer, shed shells in the sand. Video cameras were used to capture the molting behavior. After molting, the crab folds the molted exoskeleton, pressing the cephalothorax with both forceps, and buries the shell with its walking legs, until it is no longer visible.
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22 September 2022
Peculiar Molting Behavior of Large Hermit Crabs1
Rise Ohashi,
Naoki Kamezaki
Pacific Science
Vol. 76 • No. 2
April 2022
Vol. 76 • No. 2
April 2022
anti-predator strategy
Dardanus megistos
hermit crab
marine invertebrate
molting behavior