Hermit crab shells instead, as shown by a specimen of "Palaeopagurus vandenengeli" from the Speeton Clay, Yorkshire, UK from the Lower Cretaceous. Hermit crab Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the approximately 1,110 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen that is concealed in a scavenged mollusc shell carried around by the hermit crab. Most species have long, spirally curved abdomens, which are soft, unlike the hard, calcified abdomens seen in related crustaceans. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab, into which its whole body can retract. Most frequently,
Great-billed hermit of eastern Brazil is sometimes considered a separate species: Margaretta's Hermit ("P. margarettae"). Great-billed hermit The great-billed hermit ("Phaethornis malaris") is a species of hummingbird in the family Trochilidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. The taxonomy of this species and the long-tailed hermit is confusing. Most taxa previously consider subspecies of the latter ("insolitus", "moorei", "ochraceiventris", "bolivianus" and "margarettae") are now considered subspecies of the former. A satisfactory taxonomic treatment of the entire "P. longirostris/P. superciliosus/P. malaris" group is still lacking