Diogenes pugilator

Like other hermit crabs, D. pugilator conceals its soft abdomen inside an empty gastropod mollusc shell; the abdomen is twisted to fit the contours of the shell. The carapace protects the anterior part of the crab and can be up to {{convert|11|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} long; it is squarish in shape, has triangular projections along the front edge, and is clad with hairs on the front two corners. The eyes are on stalks which are about half as long as the width of the carapace. The left chela (claw) is very much larger than the right one, and both claws are covered with short hairs. The chelae and other legs can be contracted into the entrance of the shell.{{cite web |url=https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/90 |title=A hermit crab: Diogenes pugilator |author=Barnes, M.K.S. |date=13 May 2008 |publisher=Marlin |accessdate=17 February 2018}}

D. pugilator is native to the temperate and subtropical eastern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from the southern North Sea southwards to Angola, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Red Sea. Its northern limit was at one time thought to be Swansea in South Wales, but it has since been found as far north as Anglesey, and the coasts of southwestern Ireland. It is found on soft substrates from the shallow sub-tidal to depths of as much as {{convert|1800|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, but is most common in shallow water.{{cite journal |title=The hermit crab Diogenes pugilator (Roux, 1829) in Irish waters |author1=David McGrath |author2=Mark J. Costello |author3=Chris Emblow |journal=Biology and Environment: Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy |volume=100B |issue=2 |year=2000 |pages=115–118 |jstor=20500087}}

This is a small hermit crab which tends to occupy shells of the netted dog whelk Tritia reticulata. These crabs are often present on flattish beaches composed of medium to fine grained sand where the waves sweep up the shore. When exposed, they rapidly bury themselves in the sand, using the enlarged left chela to stabilise themselves in the wet sand and limit the extent to which they are rolled about by the waves.{{cite web |url=https://www.glaucus.org.uk/Diogenes.htm |title=South-claw Hermit Crab |author=Rees, Ivor |work=Crab database |publisher=British Marine Life Study Society |accessdate=17 February 2018}}

Near Cádiz in southern Spain, there are three species of hermit crab, D. pugilator, Paguristes eremita and Pagurus forbesii. Of these, P. eremita is the biggest and strongest, and makes use of the most robust gastropod shells with the widest apertures. D. pugilator is the most numerous but tends not to use the shells of the most common gastropod, Turritella turbona, which are used preferentially by P. forbesii. D. pugilator instead uses the less common Tritia reticulata, even when the crab's carapace is so large that it overlaps the shell's aperture.{{cite journal |author1=Manjón-Cabeza, M. E. |author2=Raso, J. E. García |year=1999 |title=Shell utilization by the hermit crabs Diogenes pugilator (Roux, 1829), Paguristes eremita (Linnaeus, 1767) and Pagurus Forbesii Bell, 1845 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura), in a shallow-water community from southern Spain |journal=Bulletin of Marine Science |volume=65 |issue=2 |pages=391–405 |url=http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/umrsmas/bullmar/1999/00000065/00000002/art00006#Metr }}

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• {{Commons category-inline|Diogenes pugilator|Diogenes pugilator}}

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Category:Diogenidae

Category:Anomura of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Crustaceans described in 1829