''Labidochirus splendescens'', commonly known as the splendid hermit crab, is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
hermit crab found in the northeastern
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
off the coast of North America. It is more heavily calcified and inhabits smaller mollusc shells than most hermit crabs.
Taxonomy
This species was first collected during the exploratory expedition by
HMS ''Blossom'' (1825–1827) off the
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and we ...
, in eastern Siberia. The specimens collected were sent to London where this hermit crab was
first described in 1839 by the English naturalist
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen (20 July 1804 – 18 December 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and paleontologist. Owen is generally considered to have been an outstanding naturalist with a remarkable gift for interpreting fossils.
Owe ...
, curator of the Museum of the
Royal College of Surgeons
The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...
. He named it ''Pagurus splendescens'',
[ becoming ''Labidochirus splendescens'' in the seventies when the subgenus ''Labidochirus'', of which it was the type, was raised to generic status.]
Description
''Labidochirus splendescens'' can grow to a carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
width of about . The carapace is armed with dorsal spines and is more heavily calcified than is the case in most hermit crabs. The walking legs are relatively long and the crab "wears" a mollusc
Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...
shell that appears to be too small. The crab's body and legs are brown or pinkish and have a reddish iridescent sheen.[
]
Ecology
Distribution and habitat
This hermit crab is native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean, its range extending as far south as Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
in Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. It occurs from the shallow subtidal zone
The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth.
From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...
down to about ; it frequents open sandy or muddy places.
Association with hydroids
Because ''L. splendescens'' has a well-calcified carapace, the gastropod
The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda ().
This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...
mollusc shell which it inhabits is only needed to provide protection for its soft abdomen. However, the crab almost exclusively chooses shells in which to live on which stinging colonial hydroids in the genus '' Hydractinia'' are growing; these are likely to provide extra protection to the hermit crab, but it is unknown whether the association is mutually beneficial.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4467060
Hermit crabs
Crustaceans of the eastern Pacific Ocean
Fauna of the Arctic Ocean
Crustaceans described in 1839
Taxa named by Richard Owen