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The '''Caribbean hermit crab''', '''''Coenobita clypeatus''''', also known as the '''soldier crab''',<ref name="Nieves"/> the '''West Atlantic crab''', the '''tree crab''', and the '''purple pincher''' (due to the distinctive purple claw), is a species of land [[hermit crab]] native to the west [[Atlantic]], [[Bahamas]], [[Belize]], southern [[Florida]],<ref name=CoD>{{cite web |accessdate=July 14, 2009 |title=Common Coastal Flora and Fauna of Vieques |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |url=http://mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/portal/vieques/pdfs/VCHTbook.pdf}}</ref> [[Venezuela]], the [[Virgin Islands]], and the [[West Indies]].<ref name=CoL>{{cite book |author=Audrey Pavia |year=2006 |edition=2nd |title=Hermit Crab |series=Volume 51 of Your Happy Healthy Pet |publisher=[[John Wiley and Sons]] |isbn=978-0-471-79379-3 |chapter=What is a hermit crab? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlYGxERCosEC&pg=PA18 |pages=13–22}}</ref> Adults burrow and hide under the roots of large trees, and can be found a considerable distance inland.<ref name=CoD/> As with other terrestrial crabs, they utilize modified gills to breathe air. Their shell helps maintain the humidity necessary for gas exchange to function.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Farrelly|first1=C.A.|last2=Greenaway|first2=P.|title=The morphology and vasculature of the respiratory organs of terrestrial hermit crabs (Coenobita and Birgus): gills, branchiostegal lungs and abdominal lungs|journal=Arthropod Structure & Development|date=January 2005|volume=34|issue=1|pages=63-87|doi=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2004.11.002|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1467803904000684|accessdate=17 April 2018}}</ref>
Caribbean hermit crabs are both herbivorous and scavengers.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Linton|first1=Stuart|last2=Greenaway|first2=Peter|title=A review of feeding and nutrition of herbivorous land crabs: adaptations to low quality plant diets|journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology B|date=6 February 2007|volume=177|issue=3|pages=269–286|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-006-0138-z|accessdate=25 January 2018}}</ref> In the wild, ''C. clypeatus'' feeds on animal and plant remains, overripe fruit, and feces of other animals,<ref name=CoD/> including the [[Mona ground iguana]], ''Cyclura stejnegeri''.<ref name="Nieves"/> The West Indian top snail (''[[Cittarium pica]]'') shell is often used for its home, and the hermit crab can use its larger claw to cover the aperture of the shell for protection against [[predator]]s.<ref name=CoD/> As with other species of hermit crabs, ''C. clypeatus'' may engage in "shell fights" and can emit a chirping noise when stressed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hazlett|first1=Brian|title=Observations on the Social Behavior of the Land Hermit Crab, ''Coenobita clypeatus'' (Herbst)|journal=Ecology|date=1 March 1966|volume=47|issue=2|pages=316–317|doi=10.2307/1933783|url=http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/1933783/full|accessdate=25 January 2018}}</ref> Typically, the Caribbean hermit crab's left claw is larger in size than its right claw and is purple in color. Female land hermit crabs release fertilized eggs into the ocean. The spawning (called "washing" in the English-speaking Caribbean) occurs on certain nights, usually around August.<ref name="Nieves">{{cite journal|author=Ángel M. Nieves-Rivera |author2=Ernest H. Williams, Jr. |year=2003 |title=Annual migrations and spawning of ''Coenobita clypeatus'' (Herbst) on Mona Island (Puerto Rico) and notes on inland crustaceans |journal=[[Crustaceana]] |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=547–558 |doi=10.1163/156854003322316191 |jstor=20105594}}</ref>
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