Outgrowing the shellSourced
This giant hermit-crab relative gives up its borrowed shell
Coconut crabs inhabit islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans. Young ones use empty gastropod shells, like other hermit crabs. As they grow, their abdomens toughen and they stop carrying shells. Adults are adapted to land and can drown if submerged for too long.
Despite the name, adult life is firmly on land.
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Coconut crab · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-10