Procreation among hermit crabs is as different as their lifestyle. The male animal deposits his spermatophore into holes in the legs of the female crab. A male hermit crab entices a female out of her shell by tapping on it. Once the female's body is sufficiently free of her shell, the male will align his fifth pair of legs with her back pair and proceed to mate.
Things You'll Need
- Small piece of glass, 6 inches by 6 inches
- Glass container (optional)
- Hermit crab
- Magnifying glass
- Piece of thawed prawn
Instructions
Place the hermit crab on a small piece of glass. You will need to examine the creature from underneath, as you require a close look at the rear walking legs or pleopods.
Wait for the hermit crab to come out of its shell, as it would normally do to walk about or feed. Encourage the crab if necessary by offering it a piece of thawed prawn.
Do not attempt to forcefully remove the crab from its shell. These animals would let themselves be torn in half before releasing their grip on the protective shell.
Place the hermit crab in a glass container, should you not be able to entice it from its shell. Examine the legs of the crab when it attempts to climb up the glass container to escape.
Use a magnifying glass to examine the crab's rear walking legs. Look very closely at the joint between the first major body section and the abdomen.
Look for two tiny openings, which might appear as black holes in the crab's legs. A crab with this feature is female. These are the genital openings or gonopores, into which the male deposits his spermatophore during copulation.
Examine another hermit crab. Look closely at the rear legs. These pleopods or walking legs are very small or vestigial in the male.
Observe hermit crabs mating. The male crab will be easy to identify, as he will be tapping the shell of the female to encourage her to come out.