The New Zealand hermit crab, Pagurus novizealandiae, is just one of around 60 species of hermit crab found in our waters and on our rocky shores. This species is found only in New Zealand, and is common in intertidal areas around the country. It has a flexible, spiral-shaped body that coils into its borrowed shell, and it moves into ever-larger mollusc and gastropod shells as it grows. This hermit crab has adopted an empty southern olive shell as its home. The shell’s original owner was an endemic sea snail, Amalda australis or pūpū piatāta, which hunts beneath the sand, leaving a distinctive trail.
Photograph Richard Robinson © 2021.
Rights managed image. No Reproduction without prior written permission.