Coenobita
- The junior homonym Coenobita Gistl, 1848 is now the moth genus Ectropis.
| Coenobita | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Caribbean hermit crab, C. clypeatus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Superfamily: | Paguroidea |
| Family: | Coenobitidae |
| Genus: | Coenobita Latreille, 1829 |
| Type species | |
| Pagurus clypeatus | |
The genus Coenobita contains the sixteen species of terrestrial hermit crabs.[1]
Ecology
Coenobita species carry water in the gastropod shells they inhabit, allowing them to stay out of water for a long time.[2]
Distribution
The majority of the species are found in the Indo-Pacific region, with only one species in West Africa, one species occurring along the western Atlantic Ocean, and one species occurring on the Pacific coast of the Americas.[3]
| Image! Species | Authority | Year | Distribution [3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Coenobita brevimanus | Dana | 1852 | Indo-Pacific |
| Coenobita carnescens | Dana | 1851 | Pacific Ocean | |
 | Coenobita cavipes | Stimpson | 1858 | Indo-Pacific |
 | Coenobita clypeatus | (Fabricius) | 1787 | Western Atlantic |
.jpg) | Coenobita compressus | H. Milne-Edwards | 1836 | Eastern Pacific |
| Coenobita longitarsis | De Man | 1902 | East Indies | |
| Coenobita olivieri | Owen | 1839 | Pacific Ocean | |
 | Coenobita perlatus | H. Milne-Edwards | 1837 | Indo-Pacific |
| Coenobita pseudorugosus | Nakasone | 1988 | Indo-Pacific | |
 | Coenobita purpureus | Stimpson | 1858 | Japan |
| Coenobita rubescens | Greeff | 1884 | West Africa | |
 | Coenobita rugosus | H. Milne-Edwards | 1837 | Indo-Pacific |
| Coenobita scaevola | (Forskål) | 1775 | Indian Ocean, Red Sea | |
| Coenobita spinosus | H. Milne-Edwards | 1837 | Polynesia & Australia | |
 | Coenobita variabilis | McCulloch | 1909 | Australia |
 | Coenobita violascens | Heller | 1862 | Pacific Ocean |
Taxonomy
Coenobita is closely related to the coconut crab, Birgus latro, with the two genera making up the whole of the family Coenobitidae. The name Coenobita was coined by Pierre André Latreille in 1829, from an Ecclesiastical Latin word, ultimately from the Greek κοινόβιον, meaning "commune"; despite ending in a vowel, the genus is masculine in gender.[4]
References
- 1 2 Patsy McLaughlin (2009). Lemaitre R, McLaughlin P, eds. "Coenobita Latreille, 1829". World Paguroidea & Lomisoidea database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ↑ D. R. Khanna (2004). Biology of Arthropoda. Discovery Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7141-897-8.
- 1 2 Richard G. Hartnoll (1988). "Evolution, systematics, and geographical distribution". In Warren W. Burggren & Brian Robert McMahon. Biology of the Land Crabs. Cambridge University Press. pp. 6–54. ISBN 978-0-521-30690-4.
- ↑ Gary J. Morgan & L. B. Holthuis (1989). "Nomenclatural problems associated with the genus Coenobita Latreille, 1829 (Decapoda, Anomura)" (PDF). Crustaceana. 56 (2): 176–181. doi:10.1163/156854089X00068. JSTOR 20104437.
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