In this video, the orange hermit crab inhabits the shell of an Oregon triton
The Elassochirus gilli (Benedict 1892), commonly known as the Orange Hermit Crab, is commonly found in the waters around Race Rocks. Hermit crabs are abundant around the world. They have soft rear ends that need the protection of the hard snail shell for survival. Hermit crabs carry their shell homes on their backs and tuck themselves away inside for protection using their strong stomach muscles. Sometimes, hermit crabs experience housing problems. As the crab outgrows one shell, it must find another often running into serious competitions for available homes in the right size range. Once it has found a suitable home it will not look again for some time. In any case, hermit crabs will fight for exclusive rights to empty shells. However, they will never displace a live snail from its home.In the video above, the crab inhabits the shell ot the Oregon triton snail, Fusitriton oregonensis .They have two sets of legs that they extend outside their shell for walking and two pairs of legs tucked away inside that they use to move their body around inside their shell.
The right cheliped surface of the Elassochirus gilli is smooth (without small spines) with its shield equal in length and width. The eyestalk of the crab is stout and its cornea is not inflated. The left hand is oval with a wide fixed finger. However, its greatly expanded and flattened right claw is a distinguishing feature. The walking legs of the crab are compressed and yet another distinguishing feature of the species is its bright blue upper leg. The Elassochirus gilli is usually rather uniformly orange to red.
The size of the male crab, is on average, about 20.4m in length. In this secies, the males are without paired pleopods and the females are without paired gonoppores.
The Elassochirus gilli prefers bedrock in areas of fast moving current. As such, its primary habitat is in rocky areas.
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Infraorder Anomura
Superfamily Paguroidea
Family Paguridea
Genus Elassochirus
Species gilli
COMMON NAME: Orange Hermit Crab
WEBSITES AND REFERENCES ON ELASSOCHIRUS GILLI
http://www.oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/biodiversity/hermitcrab.html
Kozloff, Eugene N. Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast, University of Washington Press (1996), p.410
Hart, Josephine F. Crabs and their Relatives of British Columbia, British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria (1982), p.124
 The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Dec 2001- N’kiru Okagbue |