Caribbean hermit crab

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"Tree crab" redirects here. For the Mangrove tree crab, see Aratus pisonii.

Caribbean hermit crab
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Coenobitidae
Genus: Coenobita
Species:
C. clypeatus
Binomial name
Coenobita clypeatus
(Fabricius, 1787)[1]
A Caribbean hermit crab in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida

The Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus), also known as the soldier crab,

Atlantic, Belize, southern Florida,[3] Venezuela, and the West Indies.[4]

Description

Adults burrow and hide under the roots of large trees, and can be found a considerable distance inland.[3] As with other terrestrial crabs, they use modified gills to breathe air. Their shells help maintain the humidity necessary for gas exchange to function.[5] Typically, the Caribbean hermit crab's left claw is larger in size than its right claw and is purple in color. Female land hermit crabs release fertilized eggs into the ocean. The spawning (called "washing" in the English-speaking Caribbean) occurs on certain nights, usually around August.[2]

Ecology

Caribbean hermit crabs are both herbivorous and scavengers.

predators.[3] As with other species of hermit crabs, C. clypeatus may engage in "shell fights" and can emit a chirping noise when stressed.[7]

Aquaculture

This species is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in the United States as pets, the other being the Ecuadorian hermit crab.[4][8] C. clypeatus has been confirmed to live as long as 12 years,[9] and some crab owners have claimed to have crabs live up to 40 years.[10]

References

  1. ^ Patsy A. McLaughlin; Tomoyuki Komai; Rafael Lemaitre; Dwi Listyo Rahayu (2010). Martyn E. Y. Low and S. H. Tan (ed.). "Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea)" (PDF). Zootaxa. Part I – Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea. Suppl. 23: 5–107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-22.
  2. ^
    S2CID 53587978
    .
  3. ^ a b c d "Common Coastal Flora and Fauna of Vieques" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2009.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-471-79379-3
    .
  5. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2004.11.002
    .
  6. S2CID 23721149
    .
  7. JSTOR 1933783
    .
  8. ISBN 978-0-7641-1229-4
    .
  9. doi:10.1163/156854072X00624
    .
  10. ^ Lombardi, Linda (2016-10-04). "The 40-Year-Old Hermit Crab". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 25 January 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Coenobita clypeatus.
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