pea crab

noun

any of several tiny crabs of the family Pinnotheridae, the female of which lives as a commensal in the shells of bivalve mollusks.

Origin of pea crab

First recorded in 1830–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pea crab

Historical Examples of pea crab

Inquiline, in′kwi-lin, adj. living in the abode of another, as a pea-crab in an oyster-shell.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
When the pea-crab discovers a supply of food he brings it to his friend, the Pinna, to be divided equally.
Digby Heathcote
W.H.G. Kingston

British Dictionary definitions for pea crab

pea crab

noun

any of various globular soft-bodied crabs of the genus Pinnotheres and related genera that live commensally in the mantles of certain bivalves

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012