| Labidochirus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Labidochirus splendescens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Paguridae |
| Genus: | Labidochirus Benedict, 1892 |
Labidochirus is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Paguridae. [1] [2] They occur in the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans. [2]
There are two recognized species: [1] [2]
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.
The Caribbean hermit crab, also known as the soldier crab, West Atlantic crab, tree crab, or purple pincher, is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Belize, southern Florida, Venezuela, and the West Indies.
The Ecuadorian hermit crab also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as pets, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab.
King crabs are decapod crustaceans of the family Lithodidae that are chiefly found in deep waters and are adapted to cold environments. They are composed of two subfamilies: Lithodinae, which tend to inhabit deep waters, are globally distributed, and comprise the majority of the family's species diversity; and Hapalogastrinae, which are endemic to the North Pacific and inhabit exclusively shallow waters. King crabs superficially resemble true crabs but are generally understood to be closest to the pagurid hermit crabs. This placement of king crabs among the hermit crabs is supported by several anatomical peculiarities which are present only in king crabs and hermit crabs, making them a prominent example of carcinisation among decapods. Several species of king crabs, especially in Alaskan and southern South American waters, are targeted by commercial fisheries and have been subject to overfishing.
Carcinisation is a form of convergent evolution in which non-crab crustaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. The term was introduced into evolutionary biology by L. A. Borradaile, who described it as "the many attempts of Nature to evolve a 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.
The Diogenidae are a family of hermit crabs, sometimes known as "left-handed hermit crabs" because in contrast to most other hermit crabs, its left chela (claw) is enlarged instead of the right. It comprises 429 extant species, and a further 46 extinct species, making it the second-largest family of marine hermit crabs, after the Paguridae.
Algae eater or algivore is a common name for any bottom-dwelling or filter-feeding aquatic animal species that specialize in feeding on algae and phytoplanktons. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by aquarium hobbyists to improve water quality. They are also important primary consumers that relay the biomass and energy from photosynthetic autotrophes up into the food web, as well as protecting the aquatic ecosystem against algae blooms.
The Paguridae are a family of hermit crabs of the order Decapoda. The king crabs, Lithodidae, are now widely understood to be derived from deep within the Paguridae, with some authors placing their ancestors within the genus Pagurus.
Pagurus is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Paguridae. Like other hermit crabs, their abdomen is not calcified and they use snail shells as protection. These marine decapod crustaceans are omnivorous, but mostly prey on small animals and scavenge carrion. Trigonocheirus and Pagurixus used to be considered subgenera of Pagurus, but the former is nowadays included in Orthopagurus, while the latter has been separated as a distinct genus.
Oedignathus inermis is a species of king crab found off the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada, from California to Alaska, and disjunctly around the coasts of Japan. It is the only species in the genus Oedignathus, and is sometimes called the granular claw crab, paxillose crab, or tuberculate nestling lithode crab.
Paralomis is a widely distributed, highly speciose, and morphologically diverse genus of king crabs in the subfamily Lithodinae.
The Pylojacquesidae are a small family of hermit crabs, comprising only two monotypic genera. The family was erected in 2001, after two specimens at Museum für Naturkunde at the Humboldt University of Berlin were recognised as being quite distinct from other described hermit crabs. The family members differ from other hermit crabs in that their mandibles are chitinous and toothed.
Calcinus tubularis is a species of hermit crab. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and around islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives below the intertidal zone. Its carapace, eyestalks and claws are marked with numerous red spots. C. tubularis and its sister species, C. verrilli, are the only hermit crabs known to show sexual dimorphism in shell choice, with males using normal marine gastropod shells, while females use shells of gastropods in the family Vermetidae, which are attached to rocks or other hard substrates.
Cancellus is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Diogenidae. Members of this genus are most commonly found living in small crevices in the outer continental shelf at mesophotic depths. They can be found living in rocks, sponges, and algae among other places. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Four species are known from the western Atlantic.
Diogenes heteropsammicola is a species of hermit crab discovered during samplings between 2012 and 2016 in the shallow waters of the Japanese Amami Islands. This D. heteropsammicola is strongly associated with the walking corals. This hermit crab species is unique due to the discovery that they use living, growing coral as a shell. They live in the inside of the coral and can be distinguished from other types of hermits by their thin chelipeds and leg shape. Crustaceans of this type commonly replace their shell as the organism grows in size, but D. heteropsammicola are the first of their kind to use solitary corals as a shell form. Heteropsammia and Heterocyathus are the two solitary corals that this hermit species has been observed as occupying. These two coral species are also used as a home by symbiotic Sipuncula of the genus Aspidosiphon, which normally occupy the corals that were previously occupied by crabs.
Pagurus acadianus, the Acadian hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in Western Atlantic Ocean.
Pagurus dalli, commonly known as the whiteknee hermit or whiteknee hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean at depths down to about 276 m (900 ft). It usually lives in a mutualistic symbiosis with a sponge, or sometimes a hydroid.
Heterocyathus is a genus of coral of the family Caryophylliidae.
Paguristes puncticeps is a hermit crab, in the family Diogenidae. It is found in shallow waters in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Like other hermit crabs, it lives inside an empty mollusc shell, which it changes periodically as it grows.
 | This Anomura article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |