The thinstripe hermit crab (Clibanarius vittatus) is the island's second most-recorded crustacean (172 island records, 204 county) . It is dark green-brown with white or gray stripes down the legs and small blue bumps on the claws, and adults commonly carry shells more than 10 cm long — which on this coast usually means a lightning whelk, a pear whelk or a moon-snail shell . It lives from the intertidal to about 22 m on sand, mud, seagrass, oyster and jetty rock, scavenging detritus . Look for it on the bayside flats and around the jetty bases; a whelk shell that walks is almost always this species.
Observe responsibly
Wildlife, tides and access conditions change. Keep a respectful distance, do not feed wildlife, stay out of dunes and marked nesting areas, and use current official rules before fishing or handling any catch.