Caribbean hermit crab

2024-11-13T19:48:33Z

2600:1700:A3C0:3590:B9B7:4B42:27D5:C19D: /* Aquaculture */ Almost all of the individuals sold in the pet trade are wild caught. Aquaculture implies that they are cultivated.

{{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 = ([[Johan Christian Fabricius|Fabricius]], 1787)<ref>{{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 }}</ref>
}}

[[File:Hermite Crab Dry Tortugas.jpg|thumb|A Caribbean hermit crab in the [[Dry Tortugas National Park]], Florida]]

The '''Caribbean hermit crab''' (''Coenobita clypeatus''), also known as the '''soldier crab''',<ref name="Nieves"/> '''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]],<ref name=CoD>{{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 }}</ref> [[Venezuela]], and the [[West Indies]].<ref name=CoL>{{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 }}</ref>

==Description==
Adults burrow and hide under the roots of large trees, and can be found a considerable distance inland.<ref name=CoD/> As with other terrestrial decapods, they use modified gills to breathe air. Their shells help maintain the humidity necessary for gas exchange to function.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Nieves">{{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}}</ref>

==Ecology==
Caribbean hermit crabs are both herbivorous and scavengers.<ref>{{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 }}</ref> In the wild, ''C. clypeatus'' feeds on animal and plant remains, overripe fruit, and faeces of other animals,<ref name=CoD/> including the [[Mona ground iguana]] (''Cyclura stejnegeri'').<ref name="Nieves"/> 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 [[predator]]s.<ref name=CoD/> As with other species of hermit crabs, ''C. clypeatus'' may engage in "shell fights" and can emit a chirping noise when stressed.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>

==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]].<ref name=CoL/><ref name=CoB>{{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 }}</ref> ''C. clypeatus'' has been confirmed to live as long as 12 years,<ref>{{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}}</ref> and some crab owners have claimed to have crabs live up to 40 years.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==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:Hermit crabs]]
[[Category:Fauna of the Caribbean|Hermit crab, Caribbean]]
[[Category:Arthropods of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Terrestrial crustaceans]]
[[Category:Crustaceans described in 1787]]

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Caribbean hermit crab