Clibanarius fonticola

Clibanarius fonticola, the freshwater hermit crab, is a species of left-handed hermit crab from Vanuatu. It lives exclusively in fresh water, the only hermit crab in the world to do so. While a number of other hermit crabs are terrestrial or live in estuarine habitats, and certain brackish water species can tolerate low salinity levels for a time, no other hermit crab spends its entire life in fresh water; the only other fully freshwater anomurans are the pancoras of the family aeglidae from South America.

Clibanarius fonticola lives on the island of Espiritu Santo, in a pool fed by springs near the village of Matevulu, close to an abandoned airstrip. Adults of this species all use shells of Clithon corona.