Here are two grainyhand hermits (Pagarus granosimanus) locked hand in hand. Or claw in shell. The larger male hermit crab, on the left, has his small left claw, which he normally uses for eating, firmly clamped down on the shell of a smaller female hermit crab. He'll drag her around with him until she molts, at which point he'll fertilize her eggs.
Visit our March 17th post to learn more about hermit crabs. (Sorry that we can't link directly to the post. It's a work in progress.)
Today's hermit crab entry is dedicated to the little girl who just stopped by with her father on their way to Portland, and who, by way of explaining her fascination with the Dungeness crab, said, "I work with hermit crabs." Probably that just means she has a pet hermit crab, but we hope it means she's training hermit crabs to jump through hoops of fire. Or something.