Caribbean hermit crab
{{Short description|Species of crustacean}}
{{redirect|Tree crab|the Mangrove tree crab|Aratus pisonii}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Caribbean hermit crab
| image = Caribbean hermit crab.JPG
| taxon = Coenobita clypeatus
| authority = (Fabricius, 1787){{cite journal|author=Patsy A. McLaughlin |author2=Tomoyuki Komai |author3=Rafael Lemaitre |author4=Dwi Listyo Rahayu |year=2010 |series=Part I – Lithodoidea, Lomisoidea and Paguroidea |editor=Martyn E. Y. Low and S. H. Tan |title=Annotated checklist of anomuran decapod crustaceans of the world (exclusive of the Kiwaoidea and families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae of the Galatheoidea) |journal=Zootaxa |volume=Suppl. 23 |pages=5–107 |url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s23/s23rbz005-107.pdf |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122104557/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/s23/s23rbz005-107.pdf |archivedate=2012-01-22 }}
}}
File:Hermite Crab Dry Tortugas.jpg, Florida]]
The Caribbean hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus), also known as the soldier crab, 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,{{cite web |accessdate=July 14, 2009 |title=Common Coastal Flora and Fauna of Vieques |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=http://mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/portal/vieques/pdfs/VCHTbook.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815173940/http://mapping2.orr.noaa.gov/portal/vieques/pdfs/VCHTbook.pdf |archive-date=August 15, 2009 |url-status=dead }} Venezuela, and the West Indies.{{cite book |author=Audrey Pavia |year=2006 |edition=2nd |title=Hermit Crab |series=Volume 51 of Your Happy Healthy Pet |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-471-79379-3 |chapter=What is a hermit crab? |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlYGxERCosEC&pg=PA18 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hermitcrab0000pavi/page/13 13–22] |url=https://archive.org/details/hermitcrab0000pavi/page/13 }}
Description
Adults burrow and hide under the roots of large trees, and can be found a considerable distance inland. As with other terrestrial decapods, they use modified gills to breathe air. Their shells help maintain the humidity necessary for gas exchange to function.{{cite journal|last1=Farrelly|first1=C.A.|last2=Greenaway|first2=P.|title=The morphology and vasculature of the respiratory organs of terrestrial hermit crabs (Coenobita and Birgus): gills, branchiostegal lungs and abdominal lungs|journal=Arthropod Structure & Development|date=January 2005|volume=34|issue=1|pages=63–87|doi=10.1016/j.asd.2004.11.002|bibcode=2005ArtSD..34...63F }} 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.{{cite journal|author=Ángel M. Nieves-Rivera |author2=Ernest H. Williams, Jr. |s2cid=53587978 |year=2003 |title=Annual migrations and spawning of Coenobita clypeatus (Herbst) on Mona Island (Puerto Rico) and notes on inland crustaceans |journal=Crustaceana |volume=76 |issue=5 |pages=547–558 |doi=10.1163/156854003322316191 |jstor=20105594}}
Ecology
Caribbean hermit crabs are both herbivorous and scavengers.{{cite journal|last1=Linton|first1=Stuart|last2=Greenaway|first2=Peter|title=A review of feeding and nutrition of herbivorous land crabs: adaptations to low quality plant diets|journal=Journal of Comparative Physiology B|date=6 February 2007|volume=177|issue=3|pages=269–286|doi=10.1007/s00360-006-0138-z|pmid=17279390|s2cid=23721149 }} In the wild, C. clypeatus feeds on animal and plant remains, overripe fruit, and faeces of other animals, including the Mona ground iguana (Cyclura stejnegeri). The West Indian top snail (Cittarium pica) shell is often used for its home, and the hermit crab can use its larger claw to cover the aperture of the shell for protection against predators. As with other species of hermit crabs, C. clypeatus may engage in "shell fights" and can emit a chirping noise when stressed.{{cite journal|last1=Hazlett|first1=Brian|title=Observations on the Social Behavior of the Land Hermit Crab, Coenobita clypeatus (Herbst)|journal=Ecology|date=1 March 1966|volume=47|issue=2|pages=316–317|doi=10.2307/1933783|jstor=1933783|bibcode=1966Ecol...47..316H }}
Pet Trade
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.{{cite book |author=Sue Fox |year=2000 |title=Hermit Crabs: a Complete Pet Owner's Manual |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |isbn=978-0-7641-1229-4 |chapter=About hermit crabs |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hermitcrabs00suef_0/page/5 5–10] |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ht5MAvQOlC0C&pg=PT9 |url=https://archive.org/details/hermitcrabs00suef_0/page/5 }} C. clypeatus has been confirmed to live as long as 12 years,{{cite journal|last1=Chace|first1=Fenner|title=Longevity of the West Indian Terrestrial Hermit Crab, Coenobita clypeatus (Herbst, 1791) (Decapoda, Anomura)|journal=Crustaceana|date=1972|volume=22|issue=3|page=320|doi=10.1163/156854072X00624}} and some crab owners have claimed to have crabs live up to 40 years.{{cite web|last1=Lombardi|first1=Linda|title=The 40-Year-Old Hermit Crab|url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-40yearold-hermit-crab|website=Atlas Obscura|accessdate=25 January 2017|date=2016-10-04}}
References
{{Reflist|32em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20200512044915/http://coenobitaspecies.com/ Coenobita Species]
- [https://www.hermitcrabanswers.com/why-do-hermit-crabs-burrow-themselves/ Hermit Crabs Burrow Themselves]
- [https://environment.bm/land-hermit-crab Bermuda Department of Environment and Natural Resources Coenobita clypeatus Page]
- {{Commons category-inline|Coenobita clypeatus|Coenobita clypeatus}}
- {{Wikibooks inline|Animal Care/Land hermit crab|Animal care: land hermit crab}}
- {{sealifephotos|368191}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1183820}}
Category:Arthropods of the Dominican Republic