March 15, 2026
The Big Dead-Fish Clean-Up
A huge thank you to the volunteers who pitched in yesterday to remove all those dead fish from the Celery…
Nature Done Wright
Incorporating the Celery Farm and Screech Owl Companion blogs
February 5, 2019
Last Week’s Monday Mystery Continues
My mystery question last week had a twist — there's a crab inside the shell on a wall atop a fort in Old San Juan.
What kind of crustacean is it?
(I figure a bird must have carried it there since these guys don't handle steps well.)
Last week's Mystery photo:
2 comments
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i agree with Jennifer. i’ll take it a step further: Coenobita clypeatus – a Carribean hermit crab, often referred to as a purple pincher among hobbyists. this one’s pretty lucky for two reasons: 1. it actually found a shell to fit it. the number of shells being harvested in the wild to sell has an impact on hermit crabs! 2. it’s in the wild. pretty much *EVERY* land hermit crab you see in captivity is taken from the wild. it is so incredibly difficult to breed them in captivity and have the offspring survive, that the pet trade exclusively sells kidnapped hermit crabs. land hermit crabs are better off in the wild!!
also, i can attest that their climbing abilities are very very impressive, and that crab probably did climb up on its own. they can climb up the inside of a glass tank if they use the corners.
guess who has a rescue Coenobita clypeatus ? 😉 (her name’s hazel.) -
Looks like a hermit crab to me.
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2 comments
julie
i agree with Jennifer. i’ll take it a step further: Coenobita clypeatus – a Carribean hermit crab, often referred to as a purple pincher among hobbyists. this one’s pretty lucky for two reasons: 1. it actually found a shell to fit it. the number of shells being harvested in the wild to sell has an impact on hermit crabs! 2. it’s in the wild. pretty much *EVERY* land hermit crab you see in captivity is taken from the wild. it is so incredibly difficult to breed them in captivity and have the offspring survive, that the pet trade exclusively sells kidnapped hermit crabs. land hermit crabs are better off in the wild!!
also, i can attest that their climbing abilities are very very impressive, and that crab probably did climb up on its own. they can climb up the inside of a glass tank if they use the corners.
guess who has a rescue Coenobita clypeatus ? 😉 (her name’s hazel.)
Jennifer Browning
Looks like a hermit crab to me.