Strawberry land hermit crab
Encyclopedia
Coenobita perlatus, is a species
of terrestrial
hermit crab
. It is known as the strawberry hermit crab because of its reddish orange colours. It is a widespread scavenger across the Indo-Pacific
, and is also traded to hobby aquarists.
of 80 g (2.8 oz), and inhabit discarded gastropod shell
s. They are coloured red or orange; this has led to the species' common name
of strawberry hermit crab.
, from Mauritius
, Seychelles
and Aldabra
in the west to Samoa
in the east. In Australia
, the species is limited to Christmas Island
, the Cocos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef
and the Coral Sea Islands Territory
. In the wild, animals may live for 25–30 years, but only live for 1–4 years in captivity
.
by taking appropriate quantities of sea water and fresh water
. In the heat of the day, it can bury itself in damp sand as a means of thermoregulation
and to prevent water loss. It can also withdraw into its shell and close the aperture
with its claws.
C. perlatus is an efficient scavenger
, to the extent that the low numbers of carrion-breeding flies
on many islands have been attributed to the presence of C. perlatus. It has also been observed to use its claw
s to pinch the live flesh from the invasive
land snail Achatina fulica.
Eggs
are brooded inside the shell that the female inhabits, but are released into the sea.
in 1837 by Henri Milne-Edwards
, based on material from Mauritius
.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of terrestrial
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
hermit crab
Hermit crab
Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
. It is known as the strawberry hermit crab because of its reddish orange colours. It is a widespread scavenger across the Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
, and is also traded to hobby aquarists.
Description
Adults may grow to an average length of 80 mm (3.1 in) and a massMass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
of 80 g (2.8 oz), and inhabit discarded gastropod shell
Gastropod shell
The gastropod shell is a shell which is part of the body of a gastropod or snail, one kind of mollusc. The gastropod shell is an external skeleton or exoskeleton, which serves not only for muscle attachment, but also for protection from predators and from mechanical damage...
s. They are coloured red or orange; this has led to the species' common name
Common name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
of strawberry hermit crab.
Distribution
C. perlatus lives in a wide swathe of the Indo-PacificIndo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
, from Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and Aldabra
Aldabra
Aldabra, the world's second largest coral atoll, is in the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that form part of the Seychelles. Uninhabited and extremely isolated, Aldabra is virtually untouched by humans, has distinctive island fauna including the Aldabra Giant Tortoise, and is...
in the west to Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
in the east. In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the species is limited to Christmas Island
Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, the Cocos Islands, the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
and the Coral Sea Islands Territory
Coral Sea Islands
The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small and mostly uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The only inhabited island is Willis Island...
. In the wild, animals may live for 25–30 years, but only live for 1–4 years in captivity
Captivity (animal)
Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...
.
Ecology and behaviour
C. perlatus keeps a supply of water in the shell it inhabits. It returns to the sea at night to refresh its water, and it performs osmoregulationOsmoregulation
Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's fluids to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move...
by taking appropriate quantities of sea water and fresh water
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
. In the heat of the day, it can bury itself in damp sand as a means of thermoregulation
Thermoregulation
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different...
and to prevent water loss. It can also withdraw into its shell and close the aperture
Aperture
In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture of an optical system is the opening that determines the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. The aperture determines how collimated the admitted rays are,...
with its claws.
C. perlatus is an efficient scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
, to the extent that the low numbers of carrion-breeding flies
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
on many islands have been attributed to the presence of C. perlatus. It has also been observed to use its claw
Claw
A claw is a curved, pointed appendage, found at the end of a toe or finger in most mammals, birds, and some reptiles. However, the word "claw" is also often used in reference to an invertebrate. Somewhat similar fine hooked structures are found in arthropods such as beetles and spiders, at the end...
s to pinch the live flesh from the invasive
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
land snail Achatina fulica.
Eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
are brooded inside the shell that the female inhabits, but are released into the sea.
Taxonomic history
Coenobita perlatus was originally describedAlpha taxonomy
Alpha taxonomy is the discipline concerned with finding, describing and naming species of living or fossil organisms. This field is supported by institutions holding collections of these organisms, with relevant data, carefully curated: such institutes include natural history museums, herbaria and...
in 1837 by Henri Milne-Edwards
Henri Milne-Edwards
Henri Milne-Edwards was an eminent French zoologist.Henri Milne-Edwards was the 27th child of William Edwards, an English planter and militia colonel in Jamaica and Elisabeth Vaux, a French. He was born in Bruges, Belgium, where his parents had retired. At that time, Bruges was a part of the...
, based on material from Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
.
Pets
C. perlatus is the rarest of the six species which are frequently found in the hobby aquarium trade.External links
- Strawberry hermit crab from exotic-pets.co.uk