I saw this today when we were near the shore getting ready to exit the water. This little hermit crab shares a symbiotic relationship with an anemone.
The anemone attached to the shell provides camouflage, protection, and the two invertebrates share food. In the wild, when the crab moves the anemone about the reef, it helps the anemones disperse.
When the crab outgrows its shell, it will leave it behind and find a new, larger shell and transfer the anemone on to it or select a larger anemone.
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