In: Biology

The land hermit crab (Coenobita) develops a water sac inside of their shell prior to a molt. As shedding of the old exoskeleton begins, this store of water is used to expand the body to stretch and increase size before the soft exoskeleton begins to harden again We are building image galleries of specific body parts. If you have high resolution, clear photos that you would like to donate to this project please upload your photos to Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/request/ajUgzmoG7co86iH2X0fh Overview of the anatomy of a land hermit crab (Coenobita)Read More →

In: Biology

written by Vanessa Pike- Russell 2000, updated by Stacy Griffith The life cycle of the land hermit crab is unique. It starts by the release of eggs into an ocean tide pool, where the zoea go through a series of moults and developmental stages. A baby hermit crab zoea will be a part of plankton until it grows and starts to resemble hermit crab form. Once they have developed to maturity, hermit crabs leave their watery home, making the long journey to land to find a shell for the protection of the soft abdomen. Once ashore, land hermit crabs go through a metamorphosis, developing modifiedRead More →

In: Biology

The molting cycle in crustacean is controlled by hormones. Below is a snippet from a study on crustacean molting that explains the role of hormones in the molting cycle. Land hermit crabs continue to molt their entire life unlike some other crustaceans. ERNEST S . CHANGM, ARILYN J. BRUCEA, ND SHERRY L. TAMONEBodega Marine Laboratory, University of California, P.O. Box 247, Bodega Bay, California 94923 SYNOPSISIn order to increase in size, arthropods must first molt (shed) their confining exoskeleton. This molting process is under the immediate control of the steroid molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-HE). Read the full article More articles on molting:What is moltingIs myRead More →

In: Biology, General

written by Jennifer Borgesen The fungi:  how they grow and their effects on human health. (includes related article on documentation of fungal exposure and disease relationship) Date: 07-01-1997; Publication: Heating, Piping, Air Conditioning; Author: Burge, Harriet A. Shape and structure of fungi “The fungal cell is similar to that. of plants and animals, containing all of the same organelles (nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, membrane systems, etc.). Like plants, the fungal cell is bounded by a rigid cell wall. However, while plant cell walls contain cellulose as the basic structural material, fungal cell walls contain a material that is similar to that in insect exoskeletons (chitin). MostRead More →

In: Biology, FAQ

Originally written by Vanessa Pike-Russell and Lisa Loseke updated by Stacy Griffith Arthropods (e.g., insects and crustaceans) must molt their exoskeletons periodically in order to grow; in this process the inner layers of the old cuticle are digested by a molting fluid secreted by the epidermal cells, the animal emerges from the old covering, and the new cuticle hardens. The molting process is a central, and nearly continuous, part of a crab’s life. A hermit crab may spend 90% of its time getting ready to molt, molting, or recovering from a molt. There are many dangers to molting including predation, difficulty in movement as musclesRead More →