Ecuadorian hermit crab
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Ecuadorian hermit crab | |
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Boca Chica, Chiriquí, Panama | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Malacostraca |
Order: | Decapoda |
Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
Infraorder: | Anomura |
Family: | Coenobitidae |
Genus: | Coenobita |
Species: | C. compressus
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Binomial name | |
Coenobita compressus H. Milne-Edwards, 1836
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The Ecuadorian hermit crab (Coenobita compressus) also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as pets, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab (C. clypeatus).[1][2][3]
Features and identification
Coenobita compressus is a member of the phylum
Ecuadorian hermit crabs vary greatly in colour, some are bright (
When choosing a shell, they tend to give preference to shells with a wide and round aperture.
Habitats
Native to the Americas, these hermit crabs live on the
Like most hermit crabs, they are scavengers and consume seaweed, dead fish, and other detritus that washes up on the shore.
Studies
Coenobita compressus prefers the odors of foods that they have not recently eaten.[5] Hermit crabs exposed to one food for at least 9 hours preferred foods having other odors for the next 6 hours. This short-term avoidance of food (like human beings who get bored with the same meals over and over again) compels the crabs to seek out a wider range of food. This might be advantageous to the crabs, possibly through the consumption of a more nutritionally balanced diet. Ecuadorian hermit crabs can make a chirping sound to communicate with each other.
As pets
Hermit crabs overall were once seen as a "throwaway pet" that would live only a few months, but species such as C. clypeatus have a 23-year lifespan if properly treated
References
- ^ Audrey Pavia: Hermit Crab PG.18 Retrieved July, 2009
- ^ Barren's: Hermit Crabs PG.9
- ^ Harper, Joanne (4 August 2022). "Why Do Hermit Crabs Burrow Themselves in The Sand?". Hermit Crab Answers. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ Hopkin, Karen. "Intimate Hermit Crab Keeps Shell On". Scientific American. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
- S2CID 23901241.
- ^ Pet Smart Veterinarians (2006), Land Hermit Crab Care Guide, Pet Smart, archived from the original on 2011-06-11
- ^ Lombardi, Linda (2008), "Hermit crabs can be fun, long-lasting pets", The Olympian, The Associated Press, retrieved 1 October 2008[permanent dead link]
Alternate Citation: Lombardi, Linda (July 22, 2008), "Hermit crabs don't have to fade away; with proper care they can have long life", Amherst Daily News, The Associated Press, retrieved 1 July 2009[permanent dead link] - ^ Stacy (2008), How old is my hermit crab?, crabstreetjournal.com, archived from the original on 11 December 2008, retrieved 1 August 2008
- ^ Christa Wilkin (2004). "Basic crab care". Retrieved 1 August 2008.