Kali Sharai's Land Hermit Crabs

There are mainly two kinds of hermit crabs available commercially in the U.S.

Coenobita clypeatus: The most common variety here in the U.S., this species is known online as the Puprle Pincher, or "PP" crabs. These crabs have slightly rounded, "teardrop"-shaped eyes; they are varying shades of brown to reddish in coloring, with a purple big claw. The abdomen is rounded, soft, and extends backwards in the spiral shape of the snail-shell in which the crab lives. With both species, in the bigger crabs, one can view pores and hairs on the skins.

Coenobita compressus is a species from Central America, which is why they are called Ecuadorians, or "E" crabs online. Their eyes are shaped flatter on the sides than those on PPs. Their legs and abdomens are also flatter, so that they prefer a different type of shell. Their coloring is bright orange to yellow-brown to gray; their claws, back, and tops of legs are a darker color of what the body-color is. Ecuadorians, of course, have somewhat different needs. Most importantly, they need a source of salt water available to them at all times.