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Piran's crab

Piran's crab by Steph House

St Piran’s hermit crab

This stunning hermit crab has only returned to our southern shores in recent years. Let us hope it stays for good this time!

Scientific name

Clibanarius erythropus

When to see

April - October.

Species information

Statistics

Up to 3cm long.
Rare in the UK.

About

This species has only relatively recently made a comeback to the UK after disappearing from our shore in the late 1980s. St Piran’s will often use a variety of empty sea snail shells to make their home, including flat periwinkle, dog whelk and sting winkle. They are much shyer than the common hermit crab and will often hunker down inside their shell until all danger has disappeared.

How to identify

Red eye stalks with striking black and white eyes. Claws are equally sized, unlike other hermit crabs, with black tips. Claws and legs have blotches of red and electric blue.

Distribution

Warm water species, currently only recorded on the south west coast of England, more common further south and in Europe.

Did you know?

In 2016, BBC Springwatch ran a competition to give this species a common name, with the chosen winning name being ‘St Piran’ - the Patron Saint of Cornwall, who was a hermit and who survived being thrown into the sea!