This hermit crab (Calcinus haigae) is named for Janet Haig (1925-1996) who spent her life studying hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are remarkably well adapted to their lives inside borrowed shells. As they grow, the hunt for the next-size-larger shell, leaving their shell only for the brief moment when they change shells. Don’t try to force a hermit crab to leave its shell; the body will tear apart!

This fellow was photographed in about 45 feet of water off the south Kohala Coast near the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island of Hawaii.