Ar-1421 RED FLAT CLAWED HERMIT CRAB, Pagurus impressus
It’s claws are specially modified to inhabit fighting conch shells. They are an attractive, peaceful hermit found in deep water throughout the winter months.
BIOLOGY
They can range from a solid rust to a chocolate brown with alternating bands of light color with bright blue eye stalks. Their right cheliped is much larger than the left (Williams 1984).
HABITAT
Ranges from Diamonds Shoals, N.C to Pensacola, FL. Found on sandy bottoms, grassy flats or pilings and sometimes in sponges (Williams 1984).
ANATOMY
ADDITIONAL READING
Shared use of a single hermit crab sponge by two individual Pagurus impressus
Sponge/Shell Switching by Hermit Crabs, Pagurus impressus
REFERENCES
Williams, Austin B. Shrimps, Lobsters, and Crabs of the Atlantic Coast of the Eastern United States, Maine to Florida. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984, pp 215.