| Paguristes eremita | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Family: | Diogenidae |
| Genus: | Paguristes |
| Species: | P. eremita |
| Binomial name | |
| Paguristes eremita (Linnaeus, 1767) [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Paguristes eremita, the eye spot hermit crab, [2] is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea. [2]
The carapace of this hermit crab can grow to a length of about 20 mm (0.8 in). The rostrum is pointed and there is a spine at the tip of the small eye scale. The eye stalks are long and cylindrical and the antennal scales are thorny and nearly cover the bases of the antennae. The chelae (claws) are granulated and covered with short hairs. The left chela is slightly larger than the right one. The walking legs are laterally compressed; the first three pairs are similar in length, the fourth pair are much shorter and the fifth pair end in small claws. The general colour of this crab is orange-red to brown, and the eyes are greyish-blue. A purplish spot at the base of the dactylus is diagnostic of this species. [3]
Paguristes eremita is native to the Mediterranean Sea and adjoining Atlantic Ocean, where its range extends from Portugal to Morocco. Its depth range is 10 to 50 m (33 to 164 ft) and it occurs on sandy stretches of seabed and in seagrass meadows among the Neptune grass. [3]
Like other hermit crabs, P. eremita inhabits the empty shell of a gastropod mollusc. It is often associated with the sea anemone Calliactis parasitica , epizoanthids, hydroids or the sponge Suberites domuncula which attach themselves to the shell. The main predators on this crab are loggerhead turtles, larger crustaceans, octopuses and certain fish. [3]
Like other crabs, P. eremita is a detritivore. Breeding takes place all year round. The larvae are planktonic and pass through two zoea larval stages and one megalopa stage before undergoing metamorphosis into juvenile hermit crabs. [3]
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the world's oceans, in fresh water, and on land, are generally covered with a thick exoskeleton, and have a single pair of pincers. Many other animals with similar names – such as hermit crabs, king crabs, porcelain crabs, horseshoe crabs, stone crabs, and crab lice – are not true crabs, but many have evolved features similar to true crabs through a process known as carcinisation.
The Australian land hermit crab is a terrestrial hermit crab species, native to Australia. It is a nocturnal, omnivorous crustacean. They are gregarious and thrive in tropical areas near water.
Calappa hepatica, the reef box crab, is a common benthic species of box crab of tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and the Red Sea.
Cancer pagurus, commonly known as the edible crab or brown crab, is a species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, and perhaps the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width up to 25 cm (10 in) and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). C. pagurus is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. It is the subject of the largest crab fishery in Western Europe, centred on the coasts of the British Isles, with more than 60,000 tonnes caught annually.
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.
Eriphia verrucosa, sometimes called the warty crab or yellow crab, is a species of crab found in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean from Brittany to Mauritania and the Azores. Individual crabs have been caught as far north as Cornwall. Formerly a frequent species in the Black Sea, it has decreased in numbers since the 1980s and is now listed in the Ukrainian Red Data Book of endangered species.
Pagurus armatus, the armed hermit crab or black-eyed hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab found in the eastern Pacific Ocean of the United States and British Columbia, Canada.
The coconut crab is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight up to 4.1 kg (9.0 lb). It can grow to up to 1 m in length from each tip to tip of the leg. It is found on islands across the Indian Ocean, and parts of the Pacific Ocean as far east as the Gambier Islands and Pitcairn Islands, similar to the distribution of the coconut palm; it has been extirpated from most areas with a significant human population, including mainland Australia and Madagascar. Coconut crabs also live off the coast of Africa near Zanzibar.
Diogenes pugilator is a species of hermit crab, sometimes called the small hermit crab or south-claw hermit crab. It is found from the coast of Angola to as far north as the North Sea, and eastwards through the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Red Sea. Populations of D. pugilator may be kept in check by the predatory crab Liocarcinus depurator.
The grey gurnard is a species of sea robin from the family Triglidae native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. It is caught as a food fish and is known for producing sounds. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eutrigla.
Pisidia longicornis, the long-clawed porcelain crab, is a species of porcelain crab that lives in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean. It varies from reddish to white, and grows to a carapace width of 1 cm (0.4 in). It was first named by Carl Linnaeus in 1767, although the etymology remains unclear.
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.
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.
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.
Oregonia bifurca, commonly known as the split-nose crab or the split-nose decorator crab, is a species of crabs belonging to the genus Oregonia. It is a rare deep-water species that inhabits the tops of seamounts and guyots in the northeastern Pacific Ocean; from the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, to the waters off British Columbia. It is closely related to the more common shallow-water species Oregonia gracilis, the graceful decorator crab.
Dardanus arrosor, the red reef hermit or Mediterranean hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab.
Pagurus forbesii is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
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.
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.