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Caribbean Hermit Crab

coenobita clypeatus

Photo by glbnoah109
Published on Project Noah
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17.2205, -87.592

Field Notes

Description:

Hermit crab using sports bottle cap as home.

Habitat:

Oceanic mangrove island. Lives among tree roots and near the shoreline.

Notes:

Unlike most ocean born plastic pollution, which shortens the lifespan of marine organisms, this plastic is a temporary haven. In the future, it may be broken up and shorten the lifes of other organisms.
This photo was taken on Long Caye Island, which is in the southern portion of the Lighthouse Reef Atoll. It is 43 miles off the coast of Belize.
The source of the cap is not the island.

Reference Links:

Caribbean hermit crab

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)
KarenL
Congratulations glbnoah, your spotting has been featured in the Project Noah blog today as an example of the impact that the plastics we consume is having on the environment. http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/32332030761/the-perils-of-plastic
KarenL
Hilarious! Unfortunately a lot of litter doesn't have such a interesting outcome.
Ivan Rodriguez
Wonder what its IQ must be, that's a great idea! Amazing find, made me laugh a bit. :)

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2011 Best Wildlife Photo

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PublishedOctober 23, 2011

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