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A Caribbean hermit crab in the Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. The Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus), also known as the soldier crab, [2] West Atlantic crab, tree crab, or purple pincher (due to the distinctive purple claw), is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Belize, southern Florida, [3] Venezuela, and the West Indies.
Coenobita is closely related to the coconut crab, Birgus latro, with the two genera making up the family Coenobitidae.The name Coenobita was coined by Pierre André Latreille in 1829, from an Ecclesiastical Latin word, ultimately from the Greek κοινόβιον, meaning "commune"; the genus is masculine in gender.
A hermit crab emerges from its shell, Coenobita perlatus Outside its shell, the soft, curved abdomen of hermit crabs, such as Pagurus bernhardus, is vulnerable. Hermit crab species range in size and shape, from species only a few millimeters long to Coenobita brevimanus (Indos Crab), which can approach the size of a coconut and live 12–70 years.
Thirty-two species of decapod crustaceans have been recorded in Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean Lesser Antilles. This includes eighteen species of true crabs (infraorder Brachyura); three species of hermit crab; one species of porcelain crab (infraorder Anomura); and eleven species of freshwater shrimp (infraorder Caridea).
The giant hermit crab [1] (Petrochirus diogenes) is a species of marine hermit crab. This species lives in the Caribbean Sea, and often inhabits conch shells. [2] This species of hermit crab is large enough that it can inhabit a fully grown shell of the queen conch. It will attack and eat a conch, thus obtaining a meal and a shell. [3]
Like other hermit crabs, Clibanarius vittatus lives inside the empty shell of a gastropod mollusc. This protects its soft abdomen and normally only its head and limbs project through the aperture of the shell. The chelipeds (claw-bearing legs) and claws of Clibanarius vittatus are small, both the same size, and covered in short bristles. When ...
While typically reclusive, hermit crabs will on occasion forge a relationship with other marine organisms. Some cnidarians use the hard surface of hermit crab shells to settle and grow polyps. The cnidaria aid in defending the crab from predators using their stinging cnidae and may reduce the need for frequent shell exchange.
Coenobita brevimanus is a species of terrestrial hermit crab belonging to the family Coenobitidae, which is composed of coastal living terrestrial hermit crabs.From there it belongs to the genus Coenobita, one of two genera split from the family, which contains sixteen species.