#4551 · 🦀 crabs & other crustaceans

Ecuadorian Hermit Crab

Coenobita compressus

🦀 Crabs & other crustaceans 📍 outside Europe

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Jorge Armín Escalante-Pasos · CC BY 4.0
2. © Comunidad y Biodiversidad A. C. · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Franklin Checa · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Erick Noe Tapia Banda · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. Aguirre, CR-PU, CR:© dashaantarctica · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico:© Shahan Derkarabetian · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
7. Calle 5a Oeste, Panama City, Panamá, PA:© no rights reserved · CC0
8. Puntarenas, CR:© Thomas Shahan · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. San Cristobal, Ecuador:© Rich Hoyer · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
10. Los Santos, PA:© no rights reserved · CC0

what is it?

The Ecuadorian hermit crab ( Coenobita compressus ) also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as a pet, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab ( Coenobita clypeatus ).

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 8,225iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
8,225 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Henri Milne-Edwards in 1836 (190 years ago).

fact sheet

English: Ecuadorian Hermit Crab
scientific name: Coenobita compressus
class: Malacostraca
order: Decapoda
family: Coenobitidae
sightings in NL: 0
sightings worldwide: 8,225
GBIF records in NL: 0
weight: —
length: —
lifespan: —
named: 1836 by Henri Milne-Edwards

relatives· Coenobitidae

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 196626, Wikidata Q5334405, GBIF 5716740, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.