Pagurus pollicaris

Pagurus pollicaris is a hermit crab commonly found along the Atlantic coast of North America from New Brunswick to the Gulf of Mexico. It is known by a number of common names, including gray hermit crab,^[1] flat-clawed hermit crab,^[2] flatclaw hermit crab,^[1] shield hermit crab,^[2] thumb-clawed hermit crab,^[3] broad-clawed hermit crab,^[4] and warty hermit crab.^[5]

Pagurus pollicaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Anomura
Family:	Paguridae
Genus:	Pagurus
Species:	P. pollicaris
Binomial name
Pagurus pollicaris Say, 1817 [1]

P. pollicaris inhabits the shells of shark eye snails and whelks.^[4] It grows to a length of 31 millimetres (1.2 in) and a width of 25 mm (1.0 in).^[2] The shell is often shared by the commensal zebra flatworm (Stylochus ellipticus).^[2]

The diet of the flat-clawed hermit crab comprises organic matter, algae, and sometimes other hermit crabs. Fish are the most important predators of this species.