Aniculus aniculus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Aniculus aniculus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Superfamily: | Paguroidea |
| Family: | Diogenidae |
| Genus: | Aniculus |
| Species: | A. aniculus |
| Binomial name | |
| Aniculus aniculus (Fabricius, 1787) | |
| Synonyms | |
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Aniculus aniculus, the red hermit crab[1] or scaly-legged hermit crab,[2] is a species of aquatic hermit crab of the family Diogenidae. It is distributed across French Polynesia in the Gambier, Marquesas, Society, and Tuamotu archipelagoes.[3] It has also been recorded in the Mozambique Channel and around Mauritius.[4] Of the species in the genus Aniculus, only it and A. ursus are considered common.[5] The species is the host of the parasitic isopod Parathelges aniculi,[6] and it is one of several hermit crabs preyed upon by Nautilus macromphalus.[7]
As adults, individuals of the species grow up to 20 centimeters long.[4] One differentiating characteristic of the species is that females possess leaf-like structures on their front three appendages that combine with a large brood-flap to create a full brood-pouch.[8] These crabs reside within the compact shells of gastropods like Muricidae and Cerithiidae.[9]
