Longwrist Hermit Crab
Pagurus longicarpus
Summary 6
Pagurus longicarpus, the long-clawed hermit crab, is a small (up to 1⁄2 in or 1.27 cm) common subtidal decapod ranging out to 150 ft (46 m) deep found living in shells from periwinkles, oyster drills, and eastern mud snails. It is found from Nova Scotia to Florida and Texas.
Description 7
Pagurus longicarpus is a small western Atlantic hermit crab. It belongs to the genus Pagurus, all members of which have unequal chelipeds (claws) in which the right is substantially larger than the left. In the case of P. longicarpus, the oversized claw is long and slender and approximately cylindrical in shape. Body color is highly variable, ranging from beige to off-white to greenish-grey to brown (Voss 1983, Rupert and Fox 1988).Like all hermits, P. longicarpus protects its soft, assymetrical abdomen by tucking it into and tightly curling it around the columella of the shell from a dead gastropod (Barnes 1987).
Size 8
Pagurus longicarpus is a small hermit crab, with adult individuals attaining a length of around 2.5 cm or less (Rupert and Fox 1988).
Look alikes 9
Pagurus longicarpus is one of at least many hermit crab species reported from Florida, at least 6 of which belong to the genus Pagurus. The abundant large hermits--the striped hermit (Clibanarius vittatus) and the giant hermit (Petrochirus diogenes)--are easily discernable from various species of Pagurus by their size. P. longicarpus can usually be distinguished from co-occurring congeners by the cylindrical shape of its enlarged cheliped (as compared to the flattened claw of P. pollicaris, for example).
Habitat 10
infralittoral and circalittoral of the Gulf and estuary
Reproduction 11
As is typical of decapod crustaceans, reproduction in Pagurus longicarpus is sexual, internal fertilization is employed, and the sexes are separate. Individuals must partially emerge from the protection of their gastropod shells and press their ventral surfaces together to allow copulation (Barnes 1987). Females extrude eggs into their shells, gather them via the pleopods, and then brood them in a manner similar to other crabs.Wilber (1989) found a number of relationships between female P. longicarpus egg production and shell characteristics such as size and condition. Of particular interest, the author noted that medium-large and large females inhabiting seagrass beds who occupied severely damaged or fouled shells were only half as likely to be reproductive as females occupying shells of better quality. Reduced incidence of reproductive females in poor quality shells may be the result of poor nutrition due to the fact that relatively less protected individuals may spend more time buried than individuals occupying intact shells and, therefore, less time foraging. Wilbur (1989) also notes that seagrass-resident female crabs occupying moon snail (Polinices duplicatus) shells or shells larger than their predicted shell size exhibited enhanced clutch sizes compared to other individuals.Based on the presence of large numbers (75%) of ovigerous female P. longicarpus during a three-month study near Alligator Harbor, Franklin County, FL, suggests that females typically produce more than one clutch per reproductive season (Wilber 1989).
Link to Access Genomic Data 12
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=158403
Sources and Credits
- (c) Mike Hansen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/37626114@N03/3494823580
- (c) cyric, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by cyric
- (c) Banco de imágenes del CNICE - MEC, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Pagurus_longicarpus.jpg
- (c) Eric Heupel, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/eclectic-echoes/23215040/
- (c) Crabby Taxonomist, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/crabby_taxonomist/7212889570/
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagurus_longicarpus
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526568
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526574
- Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526571
- (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/28474487
- (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526573
- (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved
