| Dardanus arrosor | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Dardanus arrosor from Elba | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Diogenidae |
| Genus: | Dardanus |
| Species: | D. arrosor |
| Binomial name | |
| Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Dardanus arrosor, the red reef hermit or Mediterranean hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab. [1] [2]
Carapace of Dardanus arrosor can reach a length of 6–8 centimetres (2.4–3.1 in). The color varies from bright red to bright orange. The eyestalks are robust, not very long, dilated at the tip and alternately streaked with red and white. The eyes are bluish. Claws show hair-like spines and warty tubercles. The left claw is more developed than the right one, but in both claws the tip is black or yellowish. The abdomen is asymmetrical, bare and hidden within a shell. [3] [4]
This species breed between July and August. These crabs show the striking behavior of living within empty shells of conches (usually shells of Bittium latreillii [5] ), often decorated with sea anemones (usually Calliactis parasitica ). The larvae have a symmetrical shape, but gradually they develop an asymmetrical abdomen that this crustacean will hide in a periodically replaced shell. [4]
The relationship with the anemone is truly symbiotic, since the anemone gains scraps of food from the hermit crab, while the crab benefits from the anemone's stinging tentacles deterring predators. [3] [6]
This crab is an opportunistic scavenger and predator. It feeds on decaying matter, on live crabs and small fishes. [5]
This widespread species can be found in the Atlantic coasts, in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Red Sea, in the Indo-West Pacific (Japan, New Zealand and Philippines). [1] [5]
This species inhabits continental shelf and slope. It usually lives on sandy substrate, on coastal detritic bottoms and on bathyal muds, from a few meters up to depths of 750 metres (2,460 ft). [5]
Hermit crabs are anomuran decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit crab, most of which possess an asymmetric abdomen concealed by a snug-fitting shell. Hermit crabs' soft (non-calcified) abdominal exoskeleton means they must occupy shelter produced by other organisms or risk being defenseless.
Calliactis is a genus of sea anemones. Species in this genus are mutually symbiotic with hermit crabs. The anemone gets a place to live and discarded scraps of the crab's food in exchange for its help in defending the crab.
Pagurus bernhardus is the common marine hermit crab of Europe's Atlantic coasts. It is sometimes referred to as the common hermit crab or soldier crab. Its carapace reaches 3.5 centimetres (1.4 in) long, and is found in both rocky and sandy areas, from the Arctic waters of Iceland, Svalbard and Russia as far south as southern Portugal, but its range does not extend as far as the Mediterranean Sea. It can be found in pools on the upper shore and at the mean tide level down to a depth of approximately 140 metres (460 ft), with smaller specimens generally found in rock pools around the middle shore and lower shore regions, with larger individuals at depth. P. bernhardus is an omnivorous detritivore that opportunistically scavenges for carrion, and which can also filter feed when necessary.
Paguristes cadenati, the red reef hermit crab or scarlet hermit crab, is a small species of hermit crab with a bright red body and yellow eyestalks that lives in the Caribbean Sea. The specific name honours the French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908-1992), who collected the type specimen and sent it to the French carcinologist Jacques Forest, who described it as a new species.
Dardanus pedunculatus, commonly referred to as the anemone hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab from the Indo-Pacific region. It lives at depths of up to 27 m and collects sea anemones to place on its shell for defence.
Dardanus megistos, the white-spotted hermit crab or spotted hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab belonging to the family Diogenidae.
Periclimenes dardanicola is a species of shrimp found in the western Pacific Ocean. It lives in association with sea anemones that live on the gastropod shells carried by hermit crabs. It was first named by Alexander J. Bruce and Junji Okuno in 2006. It is mainly white, and grows up to a carapace length of 4 mm (0.16 in).
Dardanus calidus is a species of hermit crab from the East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.
Calliactis parasitica is a species of sea anemone associated with hermit crabs. It lives in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea at depths between the intertidal zone and 60 m (200 ft). It is up to 10 cm × 8 cm in size, with up to 700 tentacles, and is very variable in colour. The relationship between C. parasitica and the hermit crab is mutualistic: the sea anemone protects the hermit crab with its stings, and benefits from the food thrown up by the hermit crab's movements.
Adamsia palliata is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It is usually found growing on a gastropod shell inhabited by the hermit crab, Pagurus prideaux. The anemone often completely envelops the shell and because of this it is commonly known as the cloak anemone or the hermit-crab anemone.
Pagurus prideaux is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in shallow waters off the northwest coast of Europe and usually lives symbiotically with the sea anemone Adamsia palliata.
Calliactis polypus is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It is usually found living on the surface of a sea snail shell in which a hermit crab is living.
Dardanus venosus, the starry-eyed crab or stareye crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It occurs in shallow water on the eastern coasts of America from Florida southward to Brazil. It is sometimes kept in reef aquaria.
Calliactis tricolor, the tricolor anemone or hitchhiking anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Hormathiidae. It occurs in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. It can be found attached to rocks but is often attached to a living crab or mollusc or an empty shell occupied by a hermit crab.
The thinstripe hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean.
Calitoxin, also known as CLX, is a sea anemone neurotoxin produced by the sea anemone Calliactis parasitica. It targets crabs and octopuses, among other invertebrates. Two isoforms have been identified, both of which are formed from precursors stored in the stinging cells of the anemone. Once the toxin is activated and released, it causes paralysis by increasing neurotransmitter release at invertebrate neuromuscular junctions. Along with several other toxins derived from anemones, CLX is useful in ion channel research. Certain structural aspects of calitoxin are dissimilar from sea anemone toxins that also target the sodium ion channels. Other toxins resembling calitoxin function in completely different ways.
Paguristes eremita, the eye spot hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea.
Pagurus forbesii is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Dardanus deformis is a species of nocturnal hermit crab that is found in the Indo-Pacific. Its common name is pale anemone hermit. The species is known to transfer sea anemones from one shell to another when it moves to a different shell. It can be kept in an aquarium.
Pycnogonum litorale is a marine arthropod in the family Pycnogonidae, the sea spiders. It is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the western Mediterranean Sea.