hermit crab

hermit crab
noun Date: 1735 any of numerous chiefly marine small decapod crustaceans (especially families Diogenidae, Paguridae, and Parapaguridae) having soft asymmetrical abdomens and occupying the empty shells of gastropods

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Hermit crab — Hermit crabs Temporal range: 136–0 Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Hermit crab — Hermit Her mit, n. [OE. ermite, eremite, heremit, heremite, F. hermite, ermite, L. eremita, Gr. ?, fr. ? lonely, solitary. Cf. {Eremite}.] 1. A person who retires from society and lives in solitude; a recluse; an anchoret; especially, one who so… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • hermit crab — hermit .crab n a kind of ↑crab that lives in the empty shells of other sea creatures …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • hermit crab — hermit ,crab noun count a type of CRAB with a soft body that lives in the empty shells of other SHELLFISH …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • hermit crab — n. any of various crabs (esp. family Paguridae) that have asymmetrical, soft abdomens and live in the empty shells of certain mollusks, as snails …   English World dictionary

  • hermit crab — any of numerous crabs, esp. of the genera Pagurus and Eupagurus, that protect their soft uncovered abdomen by occupying the castoff shell of a univalve mollusk. [1725 35] * * * Any crab (families Paguridae and Coenobitidae) that uses empty shells …   Universalium

  • hermit crab — noun small soft bodied marine crustaceans living in cast off shells of gastropods • Hypernyms: ↑decapod crustacean, ↑decapod • Member Holonyms: ↑Pagurus, ↑genus Pagurus * * * noun, pl ⋯ crabs [count] : a type of crab that lives in the empty shell …   Useful english dictionary

  • hermit crab — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms hermit crab : singular hermit crab plural hermit crabs a type of crab with a soft body that lives in the empty shells of other shellfish …   English dictionary

  • hermit crab — noun A type of crab species which salvages empty seashells or other portable objects to permanently shelter and protect their soft abdomens …   Wiktionary

  • hermit crab — n. crab that has no hard shell that lives in empty seashells of gastropods …   English contemporary dictionary

  • hermit crab — noun a crab with a soft abdomen, which lives in a cast off mollusc shell for protection. [Superfamily Paguroidea: many species.] …   English new terms dictionary

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