Porcellanopagurus edwardsi

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Porcellanopagurus edwardsi
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Paguridae
Genus: Porcellanopagurus
Species:
P. edwardsi
Binomial name
Porcellanopagurus edwardsi
Filhol, 1885

Porcellanopagurus edwardsi is a species of hermit crab that lives in the waters around New Zealand and its subantarctic islands.

Contents

Distribution

Porcellanopagurus edwardsi is found around the Auckland Islands, Campbell Islands, Snares Islands, Stewart Island and along the coast of New Zealand's South Island. The closely related species P. filholi has a more northerly distribution, overlapping with that of P. edwardsi only in the region of the Banks Peninsula. [1] They are benthic, and live at a depth range of 1-120m. [2]

Taxonomy

Porcellanopagurus edwardsi was described by Henri Filhol in 1885 as the only species in a new genus Porcellanopagurus ; 12 further species have since been described. [3]

Life cycle

P. edwardsi is mostly gonochoric as most members of the order Decapoda are. When mating, they commonly have a courtship ritual and indirectly transfer sperm. [4]

Description

Unlike most hermit crabs, Porcellanopagurus edwardsi is almost symmetrical, but its abdomen is bent back over the carapace, so that the pleopods are dorsally situated. The abdomen is "grossly distorted", [5] and is usually covered by the shell of a bivalve or limpet, in contrast to the gastropod shell used by most hermit crabs. [1] The cephalothorax is flattened and extends outwards in a number of lobes, the largest of which is the rostrum at the front of the animal. [6]

References

  1. 1 2 M. de Saint Laurent & P. A. McLaughlin (2000). "Superfamily Paguroidea, Family Paguridae". In Jacques Forest (ed.). The Marine fauna of New Zealand: Paguridea (Decapoda: Anomura) exclusive of the Lithodidae. NIWA Biodiversity Memoir. Vol. 114. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. pp. 104–209. ISBN   978-0-478-08489-4. pp. 110–114: P. edwardsi; pp. 114–117: P. filholi.
  2. "Porcellanopagurus edwardsi". www.sealifebase.se. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  3. Patsy McLaughlin (2010). P. McLaughlin (ed.). "Porcellanopagurus Filhol, 1985". World Paguroidea database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  4. "Porcellanopagurus edwardsi". www.sealifebase.se. Retrieved 2025-07-19.
  5. P. E. Roberts (1972). "Larvae of Porcellanopagurus edwardsi Filhol, 1885 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguridae) from Perseverance Harbour, Campbell Island". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand . 2 (3): 383–391.
  6. Patsy A. McLaughlin & Rafael Lemaitre (1997). "Carcinization in the anomura – fact or fiction? I. Evidence from adult morphology". Contributions to Zoology . 67 (2): 79–123. Archived from the original on 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2011-10-25. PDF

Further reading