Most species of hermit crabs have long, spirally curved abdomens, which are soft, unlike the hard, calcified abdomens seen in related crustaceans. The vulnerable abdomen is protected from predators by a salvaged empty seashell carried by the hermit crab, into which its whole body can retract. Most frequently, hermit crabs use the shells of sea snails (although the shells of bivalves and scaphopods are used by some species). The tip of the hermit crab's abdomen is adapted to clasp strongly onto the columella of the snail shell. The pictures here were taken in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean and the Indo-Pacific off of Borneo.