Interspecific shell fighting betweenPagurus bernhardusandPagurus cuanensis(Decapoda, Paguridea)

Abstract

Observations were made on shell fighting behavior in two species of hermit crabs, Pagurus bernhardus (L.) and Pagurus cuanensis (Bell). Both showed strong preferences for intra-specific fights when brought in from the field, but this preference was no longer present in P. cuanensis when all animals were placed in the same kind of gastropod shell.