Editing Seashell (section)

==== Invertebrates ====
[[File:Diogenes pugilator.jpg|thumb|Marine [[hermit crab]] ''[[Diogenes pugilator]]'', using a shell of the dog whelk ''[[Nassarius reticulatus]]'']]
{{biomineralization sidebar|exoskeletons}}

* Almost all genera of [[hermit crab]]s use or "wear" empty marine gastropod shells throughout their lifespan, in order to protect their soft abdomens, and in order to have a strong shell to withdraw into if attacked by a predator. Each individual hermit crab is forced to find another gastropod shell on a regular basis, whenever it grows too large for the one it is currently using.

:Some hermit crab species live on land and may be found quite some distance from the sea, including those in the tropical genus ''[[Coenobita]]''.