Land Hermit Crabs (Coenobita clypeatus) are the biggest hermit crabs in Bermuda, growing up to 10 cm (4 inches) long, and they are the only hermit crabs found on land.
Both of these factors limit the shells that they can use. Therefore like other Bermudians, the land hermit crabs have been facing a housing crisis. The main source of shells for the Land Hermit Crab was another resident of the rocky shoreline -the West Indian Topshell. These large snails were a favourite food of the early settlers and were extirpated from Bermuda. With large shells no longer available, the number of crabs that could survive here was quite small.
Courtesy of the Department of Conservation Services, for more information please visit: http://www.conservation.bm/land-hermit-crab/