Dingo the Dissident

THE BLOG OF DISQUIET : Qweir Notions, an uncommonplace-book from the Armpit of Diogenes, binge-thinker jottings since 2008 .

Monday, 18 November 2024

I am not worth more than a hermit-crab.

Diogenes of Sinope was,
so far as I know, not left-handed.

Nevertheless a family of hermit crabs
(Diogenidae, 429 species)
has been named in his honour.
They are sometimes known as
"left-handed hermit crabs"
because unlike other species of shell-less crabs,
their left claws are larger than their right. 

Confusingly, a giant hermit crab has also been named
after the scathing sage:











Petrochirus diogenes lives in the Caribbean Sea
and often resides in conch shells. 
It was originally named by Linnaeus
as Cancer diogenes.

Smaller hermit-crabs inhabit plastic pen-tops.



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