Instead, hermit crabs have a hard exoskeleton on the front part of their bodies but a soft tail on the other half, which they protect using the discarded shells of other animals, like whelks.

This hermit crab wanders along a Puerto Rico beach with none other than a Lego-like brick as his shell. Produced by Jason Gaines. Video courtesy of Associated Press. Follow BI Video: On Facebook ...

A government-funded study found that more than 90 percent of hermit crabs on Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) wore mollusk shells, not plastic debris, in a positive sign for the health of the ...