Paguristes cadenati

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Paguristes cadenati
Paguristes cadenati.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Diogenidae
Genus: Paguristes
Species:
P. cadenati
Binomial name
Paguristes cadenati
Forest, 1954  [1]

Paguristes cadenati, the red reef hermit crab or scarlet hermit crab, [2] is a small (about 3 centimetres or 1.2 inches across) 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), [3] who collected the type specimen and sent it to the French carcinologist Jacques Forest, who described it as a new species. [4]

Contents

Description

The red reef hermit crab grows to a length of about 3 cm (1.2 in). The limbs and chelae (pincers) are smooth and hairless, and the left chela is slightly larger than the right one; the abdomen is unarmoured and is concealed in the recesses of the gastropod mollusc shell that protects it. The general colour of this hermit crab is bright red with the exception of the antennae, which are deep red, and the elongated eyestalks, which are yellow or yellowish-orange. The corneas of the eyes are yellowish-green. [4] It could be confused with the orange-claw hermit crab (Calcinus tibicen) which is similar in size, but that species is generally darker in colour and has white patches near the tips of its limbs. [4]

Distribution and habitat

This hermit crab is native to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, its range including southern Florida and the West Indies. It occurs on coral reefs at depths ranging from the intertidal zone down to about 80 m (260 ft). [4]

Ecology

The red reef hermit crab is a scavenger, feeding on animal and vegetable detritus. The sexes are separate in this species and it breeds throughout the year. The eggs are orange and hatch into planktonic larvae. When these settle on the seabed, the juvenile hermit crabs need to search for a suitable shell to occupy. They often inhabit the empty shells of Cerithium species and Vasum species. [4]

This hermit crab is suitable for inclusion in an invertebrate-friendly reef aquarium where it consumes algae, including filamentous, hair, and slime algae, as well as cyanobacteria and is useful in keeping the tank clean. [5]

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<i>Dardanus venosus</i> Species of crustacean

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<i>Aniculus maximus</i> Species of crustacean

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Calcinus verrillii, commonly known as Verrill's hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the genus Calcinus which is endemic to Bermuda. It was first described by the American zoologist Mary J. Rathbun and named in honour of the American zoologist Addison Emery Verrill, who spent much time with his students studying the geology and marine fauna of Bermuda.

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<i>Dardanus arrosor</i> Species of crustacean

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<i>Paguristes eremita</i> Species of crustacean

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Pagurus forbesii is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Calcinus laevimanus</i> Species of crustacean

Calcinus laevimanus is a species of hermit crab in the genus Calcinus found in the Indo-West Pacific region, the type locality being Hawaii. It is also known as the blue-eyed hermit crab, zebra hermit crab, dwarf zebra hermit crab, left-handed hermit crab, Hawaiian reef hermit and other similar names.

<i>Eurynolambrus australis</i> Species of crab

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<i>Cinetorhynchus rigens</i> Species of shrimp

Cinetorhynchus rigens is a species of shrimp in the family Rhynchocinetidae. Common names include mechanical shrimp, Atlantic dancing shrimp, red night shrimp and red coral shrimp. It occurs in shallow water in the tropical Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Paguristes puncticeps</i> Species of crustacean

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.

Jean Cadenat was a French ichthyologist.

References

  1. Patsy McLaughlin (2009). P. McLaughlin (ed.). "Paguristes cadenati Forest, 1954". World Paguroidea database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  2. "Red reef hermit (Paguristes cadenati)". Interactive Guide to Caribbean Diving. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  3. "Dr Jean Cadenat". Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names. C. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Girard, Pascal; Noel, Pierre (2 May 2019). "Paguristes cadenati Forest, 1954" (in French). DORIS. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. "Scarlet reef hermit crab". LiveAquarium. Retrieved August 29, 2020.