Did crabs every pinch your foot in the ocean?

Many types of crabs live near the shore. Crabs are ocean life related to lobsters and shrimps. However, crabs have evolved so that they can walk or run sideways, as well as burrow and swim.

Crabs are 10-legged animals that walk sideways. There are almost 5,000 different types of crabs; about 4,500 are crabs, about 500 are hermit crabs. Most crabs live in the oceans, but many, like the robber crab, live on land.

Some crabs have blue feet. These crabs with blue feet are good to eat. Some have polka dots on their shells. Some look like spiders. These spider crabs plant seaweed on their backs. The seaweed helps them hide from their enemies.

Horseshoe Crab

A horseshoe crab is an ocean life protected by their shell that looks like a helmet with a spine at the end. Their shells are hard and curved which make it hard for predators to overturn them and expose their soft bodies. It shuffles along the ocean bottom leaving a trail in the sand.

Horseshoe crabs are brown in color and are totally harmless. Horseshoe crabs have evolved little in the last 250 million years. However, they survive, not only because of their hard shells but also, because horseshoe crabs can go a year without eating and can endure extreme temperatures and salinity.

A horseshoe crab is not really a crab but is actually related to scorpions, ticks and spiders! A horseshoe crab's tail is used to plow them through the sand and to right them when they are turned over. A horseshoe crab's tail is not a weapon.

Hermit Crabs

Hermit crabs have a way of protecting themselves too. They stick their soft back ends into snail shells and carry them around. Hermit crabs are rarely seen out of their shells. Hermit crabs have a twisted soft abdomen protected by the shell in which the hermit crabs can retreat when threatened. As the hermit crabs grow, they must find larger shells. Sometimes hermit crabs are forced to fight for shells if there are many other hermit crabs around. Hermit crabs range from the deep ocean to just above the shore line. Learn more about hermit crabs and see pictures of hermit crabs here.