poo se-shuan (ปูเสฉวน)

Thai for ‘hermit crab’, a species of decapod (ten-footed) crustacean, that belongs to the superfamily Pagurideae, which encompasses six families and about five hundred different species. Despite its common name, its is actually not closely related to true crabs, as most species have long, soft abdomens, rather than a hard carapace. Instead, hermit crabs are protected by a salvaged empty seashell carried on its back, into which the crab's whole body can retract, and which needs to be replaced by a larger shell as the hermit crab grows in size. Depending on the species, hermit crab are found both in the deep sea and at shorelines, as well as on some beaches (fig.). Also called tua se-shuan (ตัวเสฉวน) or simply se-shuan (เสฉวน), though the latter may be confused with the name of the Chinese province Szechuan, which in Thai is spelled the same. 回