When we stopped to look at the world around us, it doesn’t take long for us to determine just how amazing this planet is. It isn’t just the fact that it is capable of supporting life but it is the diversity that exists that really makes life interesting. Some of it is flying overhead, others may be sharing the ground with us, and still, others live under the sea. Although it would be difficult to say that any one particular thing is more amazing than another, when we stopped to look at the way hermit crabs trade shells, it really is interesting to note.
At the beginning of the video we see below, a hermit crab that is looking for a new shell. You see, as crabs continue to grow, they eventually outgrow the shell they have and they start looking for a new, bigger one. This hermit crab has found a shell that washed up on shore but unfortunately, it’s too large for him. That is when he decides to sit and wait, and it doesn’t take long before other hermit crabs begin to show up. None of them are able to fit in the shell but they do something interesting, they line up according to size so that they can swap shells for a larger one as they continue down the line.
Eventually, a hermit crab that is large enough shows up and takes residence inside of the new shell home. The crabs are quick to go down the line, jumping into a new shell that is more suitable to their size. Eventually, they get to the smallest crap but unfortunately, another crab has jumped in line and takes the shell that he was going to take.
Of course, the math works out in the long run and there is still a shell left over for the little hermit crab. It isn’t any bigger than the original and it has a hole in it, but he is happy because even a broken shell is better than no shell. Watch it for yourself in this video:
