Stock Photo - Common hermit crabs Pagurus bernhardus can be found on every UK shoreline with a range that takes in rock pools as well as deeper water further offshore As with other crustaceans the hermit crabs periodically require to moult and the subsequent growth in size may also mean that a new larger gastropod shell is required The act of shell swapping leaves the hermit vulnerable as the softer body parts are briefly exposed during the transition In this image the crab is making its way across a soft coral Alcyonium digitatum It is also playing host to a group of barnacles which can be seen feeding from their elevated position on the shell To 100 mm NE Atlantic from Portugal to Arctic Russia, Iceland