Coral Hermit Crab

Paguritta morgani

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Family: Paguridae
Genus: Paguritta
Species: Paguritta morgani

The coral hermit crab (Paguritta morgani) is a tiny hermit crab that lives in holes in living stony coral instead of a shell. Only its feathery antennae and front legs stick out.

It filter-feeds by sweeping its hairy antennae through the water to catch plankton, then pulling them back to its mouth. It rarely, if ever, leaves its hole.

In the Philippines it is found on reef walls and coral heads, and spotting the waving antennae takes a slow, close look.