These Feisty Hermit Crabs Brawl Over Snail Shells, Deep Look

Hermit crabs are obsessed with snail shells. These crafty little crabs, found in California s rocky intertidal zone, are more than happy to let the snails build them a perfect home. When the crabs find a snail shell they like, they hop right into their new abode. SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look Please join our community on Patreon DEEP LOOK is an ultraHD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small. Hermit crabs are one of the most recognizable and adored inhabitants of tide pools. But they arent just cute (for a crab). Theyre one of the most important creatures in the intertidal zone because of their role as scavengers, said Stephen Dunbar, a professor of biology at Loma Linda University. They begin the process of cleaning up dead materials, like dead seaweed, fish, crabs, snails or whatev