Wildlife of the Caribbean: curious hermit crab peeping out of his shell

I think the following shots could compete in several other categories such as animal photography or colorful photography but they are one of my favorite close-ups so I am submitting them in today´s #macrophotography contest organized by Hive account@juliank and Hive account@photocontests.

Hermit crabs can be found in tropical and subtropical areas all over the world and there are plenty of them here in the Caribbean. These particular photos were taken in the Cahuita National Park on the eastern coast of Costa Rica.

This little fella appeared to be very courageous at first, curiously peeping out of his shell…

^{Click on the image for full view}

…but when I came too close, he immediately adopted this defensive position, blocking the entrance to his home with his claws :))

^{Click on the image for full view}

Closely related to squat lobsters and porcelain crabs, hermit crabs are very interesting creatures. There are two basic types of them – marine hermit crabs and land hermit crabs. While their lives differ greatly, there are some traits that both types share, including the famous “shell fighting”.

As the crabs grow, they need larger shells and since suitable shells are often scarce, fierce fights can occur among the crabs for the shells.

Do you also have any photos of the hermit crab? If so, feel free to share them in the comments, I would love to see them and reward them with some little upvotes :) Just make sure to upload only your own photos please…