| Pagurus forbesii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Paguridae |
| Genus: | Pagurus |
| Species: | P. forbesii |
| Binomial name | |
| Pagurus forbesii | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Pagurus forbesii is a species of hermit crab in the family Paguridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
This species was first described by the English zoologist Thomas Bell, writing in the publication, A history of British Crustacea IV. Although the year is usually given as 1846, the part of this publication concerned was actually published in the last week of 1845. The type locality was Falmouth in England. Later in 1846, the French zoologist Hippolyte Lucas described Pagurus sculptimanus from Oran, and this was later determined to be a synonym of P. forbesii.
The genus Pagurus consists of around 170 species including 13 found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Of these 13, Pagurus forbesii and Pagurus cuanensis are distinctive in having long eyestalks, and the males have characteristic pleopods numbered 2 to 5 on the left. [2] The carapace can grow to a length of about 8.5 mm (0.33 in). The right chela (claw) is hairy and somewhat granulated; the propodus (penultimate segment) has a depression on either side of a long ridge that extends onto the dactylus. The visible portions of this hermit crab are reddish yellow, with darker spotting being present on the abdomen. [3]
Pagurus forbesii occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, its depth range being 25 to 35 m (82 to 115 ft). It inhabits sandy seabeds with coarse and medium-sized grains, as well as coral rubble. [4]
Like other hermit crabs, P. forbesii uses the empty shells of gastropod molluscs to live in. This crab has been found inhabiting shells of the cornet ( Cerithium vulgatum ), the thick-lipped dogwhelk ( Tritia incrassata ), the common tower shell ( Turritella communis ) and Ocinebrina aciculata . [4] The sea anemone Adamsia palliata often lives on the shell occupied by a hermit crab; usually this is a shell used by Pagurus prideaux , but in the Bay of Naples in Italy, about 8% of the shells occupied by P. forbesii were found to be colonised by the sea anemone. [5]
Three species of hermit crab were found to be present in a bay near Cadiz in southern Spain. Paguristes eremita were the biggest and positively selected the largest and most robust available gastropod shells. Diogenes pugilator and P. forbesii occupied similar-size, lighter shells, but despite being much more abundant, D. pugilator tended not to inhabit the commonest shell Turritella turbona , while P. forbesii seemed to preferentially select them. On occasions, D. pugilator continued to inhabit a shell whose aperture it had outgrown, while P. forbesii and P. eremita moved on to larger shells as they grew. [6]
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.
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.
Pagurus longicarpus, the long-wristed hermit crab, is a common hermit crab found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States and the Atlantic coast of Canada.
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 novizealandiae, or the New Zealand hermit crab is a hermit crab of the family Paguridae, endemic to New Zealand. Its body is up to 16 millimetres (0.63 in) wide.
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.
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.
Pagurus sinuatus is a large species of hermit crab found in Australia and the Kermadec Islands. It is red or orange in colour with coloured bands on the legs and patches on the body.
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.
Pagurus samuelis, the blueband hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab from the west coast of North America, and the most common hermit crab in California. It is a small species, with distinctive blue bands on its legs. It prefers to live in the shell of the black turban snail, and is a nocturnal scavenger of algae and carrion.
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.
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.
Paguristes eremita, the eye spot hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea.
Neanthes fucata is a species of marine polychaete worm in the family Nereididae. It lives in association with a hermit crab such as Pagurus bernhardus. It occurs in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Labidochirus splendescens, commonly known as the splendid hermit crab, is a species of hermit crab found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America. It is more heavily calcified and inhabits smaller mollusc shells than most hermit crabs.
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.
Pagurus proximus is a species of hermit crab within the family Paguridae. Occurrences of the species have been made from China, South Korea, and Japan, with the holotype of the species being from Miyako Bay.