News from Newquay
HERMIT CRAB TO SWAP SHELL SUIT FOR GLASSHOUSE	22/04/04

A hermit crab at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay is preparing to move into a new home - a hand-blown transparent glass shell!

The bizarre shell is the work of a team of talented glass sculptors from Sunderland and is based on an original design dating back to the 1930s.

The original shell was built to the specifications of Lawrence R Brightwell, a former curator of the Brighton Aquarium, Daily Mail Columnist, cartoonist and well known animal artist.

He wanted to find a way to study the crab's internal workings without having to resort to damaging the crustacean's outer shell.

The glass shell is part of a set commissioned by Cornwall Wildlife Trust from Sunderland-based Wearside Glass Sculptures and on loan to the aquarium.

Blue Reef's Matt Slater said: "We were all rather sceptical that a crab would voluntarily choose to move from the relative safety of a discarded whelk shell into a clear glass one.

"However, he's showing a keen interest in the new shell and I reckon he'll swap over in the next day or so.

"Crabs are always on the look out for a better shell and, from his point of view, the glass version clearly looks more attractive," he added.

In the wild their shells offer such safety that hermit crabs are often active during the day and can be seen out in the open secure from the unwanted attentions of would-be predators like gulls and other seabirds.

Hermit crabs usually make use of the discarded shells of other creatures - like whelks - to offer protection for their soft, vulnerable bodies. Some of their legs have become specially adapted to grasp the shell tightly from the inside.

The crab's head, claws and two pairs of walking legs protrude from the front of the shell but can be drawn inside if danger looms with the entrance blocked by their large right claw.