Home/Species/ Land Hermit

Coenobita clypeatus

(J. C. Fabricius, 1787)

Land Hermit

G5Secure Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.902523

Element CodeICMALE3010

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryInvertebrate Animal

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumArthropoda

ClassMalacostraca

OrderDecapoda

FamilyCoenobitidae

GenusCoenobita

Concept Reference

McLaughlin, P. A., D. K. Camp, M. V. Angel, E. L. Bousfield, P. Brunel, R. C. Brusca, D. Cadien, A. C. Cohen, K. Conlan, L. G. Eldredge, D. L. Felder, J. W. Goy, T. Haney, B. Hann, R. W. Heard, E. A. Hendrycks, H. H. Hobbs III, J. R. Holsinger, B. Kensley, D. R. Laubitz, S. E. LeCroy, R. Lemaitre, R. F. Maddocks, J. W. Martin, P. Mikkelsen, E. Nelson, W. A. Newman, R. M. Overstreet, W. J. Poly, W. W. Price, J. W. Reid, A. Robertson, D. C. Rogers, A. Ross, M. Schotte, F. Schram, C. Shih, L. Watling, G. D. F. Wilson, and D. D. Turgeon. 2005. Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Crustaceans. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 31. 545 pp.

Conservation Status

Review Date2014-04-02

Change Date2014-04-02

Edition Date2014-04-02

Edition AuthorsJackson, D. R. (2014)

Range Extent20,000 to >2,500,000 square km (about 8000 to >1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences81 to >300

Rank Reasons

This widespread species has a large range, many occurrences, and is likely to be abundant at many sites despite excessive human exploitation and presumed declines in some localities.

Range Extent Comments

Native to western Atlantic region, from southern Florida to Venezuela; range includes Bahamas, Bermuda, Belize, Virgin Islands, and West Indies (Kurta, 1982).

Occurrences Comments

Conjecture based on large range; data needed.

Threat Impact Comments

At least in some localities, large numbers are collected and sold (or exported) for the pet trade (one of two species of land hermit crabs commonly sold in U.S.); they are also used as fishing bait. This has led to overexploitation and decline of some populations, as well as decline in adult body sizes from removal of large mollusk shells (Nieves-Rivera and Williams, Jr., 2003).

Ecology & Habitat

Other Nations (1)

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
Florida	S3	Yes

Roadless Areas (1)

Puerto Rico (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
El Toro Area	Caribbean National Forest	12,584

References (5)

de Wilde, P. A. W. J. 1973. On the ecology of Coenobita clypeatus in Curacao, with reference to reproduction, water economy and osmoregulation in terrestrial hermit crabs. Stud. Fauna Curacao 44(144):1-138.
Hazlett, B. A. 1966. Observations on the social behavior of the land hermit crab, Coenobita clypeatus (Herbst). Ecology 47(2):316-317.
McLaughlin, P. A., D. K. Camp, M. V. Angel, E. L. Bousfield, P. Brunel, R. C. Brusca, D. Cadien, A. C. Cohen, K. Conlan, L. G. Eldredge, D. L. Felder, J. W. Goy, T. Haney, B. Hann, R. W. Heard, E. A. Hendrycks, H. H. Hobbs III, J. R. Holsinger, B. Kensley, D. R. Laubitz, S. E. LeCroy, R. Lemaitre, R. F. Maddocks, J. W. Martin, P. Mikkelsen, E. Nelson, W. A. Newman, R. M. Overstreet, W. J. Poly, W. W. Price, J. W. Reid, A. Robertson, D. C. Rogers, A. Ross, M. Schotte, F. Schram, C. Shih, L. Watling, G. D. F. Wilson, and D. D. Turgeon. 2005. Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Crustaceans. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 31. 545 pp.
Morrison, L. W., and D. A. Spiller. 2006. Land hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus) densities and patterns of gastropod shell use on small Bahamian islands. Journal of Biogeography 33(2):314-322. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2005.01399.x
Nieves-Rivera, Á. M., and E. H. Williams, Jr. 2003. Annual migrations and spawning of Coenobita clypeatus (Herbst) on Mona Island (Puerto Rico) and notes on inland crustaceans. Crustaceana 76(5):547–558. doi:10.1163/156854003322316191. JSTOR 20105594.