Facts Thursday!!!🤩 The hermit crab🦞🦀 In the picture you can see a hermit crab with an anemone attached to its house. This is a special crayfish and a special anemone (Adamsia palliata) that live together in what we call a symbiosis. It's a way of life where two species live in close proximity to each other and one or both of them benefit from it. In this case, both the crayfish and the anemone benefit from living literally on top of each other - something we call mutualism. The anemone obtains food by picking up the crayfish's leftovers. In return, the hermit crab is protected by the anemone scaring off predators by shooting violet threads from its body when it senses unease. This may be because the crayfish produces fear hormones to which the anemone responds. But what happens to the anemone when the hermit crab has to change its shell?🤔 The hermit crab changes shells regularly as it grows larger. With this cohabitation, the anemone is likely to react to chemical signaling substances secreted by the crayfish and let go of the old shell so that the crayfish can attach it to the new one. The anemone will also grow larger over time and will eventually be able to cover the entire shell. Did you also know that these species are common along the Norwegian coast? They can be found from shallow water down to a depth of 60 meters 🌊 Eng: Fact Thursday 🤩 The Hermit Crab 🦞🦀 In the picture, you see a hermit crab with an anemone attached to its shell. This is a special crab and a unique anemone (Adamsia palliata) that live together in what we call a symbiosis. This is a way of life where two species live closely together, and one or both benefit from it. In this case, both the crab and the anemone gain an advantage from literally living on top of each other-something we call mutualism. The anemone gets its food by picking up the leftovers from the crab. In return, the hermit crab receives protection because the anemone scares away predators by shooting out purple stinging threads from its body when it senses disturbance. This may happen because the crab produces fear hormones that the anemone reacts to. But what happens to the anemone when the hermit crab has to change shells 🤔 The hermit crab changes shells regularly as it grows larger. In this symbiotic relationship, the anemone will likely respond to the chemical signals the crab releases and let go of the old shell, allowing the crab to attach it to the new one. The anemone will also grow larger over time and may eventually cover the entire shell. Did you also know that these species are common along the Norwegian coast? They can be found from shallow waters down to a depth of 60 meters.