Coenobita clypeatus (Fabricius, 1787) - Caribbean hermit crab in Cerion watlingense snail shell in a rocky shore supratidal zone.

This is a juvenile Caribbean hermit crab, the only species of terrestrial hermit crab in the Bahamas. It occurs near shorelines and in well-inland environments. The rock substrate is a phytokarstified surface of aragonitic calcarenite limestone.

Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans with a soft, coiled posterior. They shelter themselves in empty gastropod shells and usually modify the shell's aperture by chipping away pieces with their claws. This apertural modification allows room for their various appendages and body extensions. Sometimes, the interior of the snail shell is also modified. Hermit crabs are principally scavengers and herbivores.

This individual has chosen a Cerion watlingense snail shell for its home. Cerion is the most common type of land snail in the Bahamas. One or two species occur on San Salvador: Cerion watlingense and Cerion rodrigoi (the latter is often considered a junior subjective synonym of the former; Cerion watlingense is called Cerion glans by taxonomic lumpers).

Stratigraphy: Hanna Bay Member, upper Rice Bay Formation, middle to upper Holocene

Classification of hermit crab: Animalia, Arthropoda, Crustacea, Malacostraca, Decapoda, Coenobitidae

Classification of snail shell: Animalia, Mollusca, Gastropoda, Cerionidae