Dardanus venosus
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| Dardanus venosus | |
|---|---|
_Figure_2.jpg) | |
| Attacks of Dardanus venosus on Aurantilaria aurantiaca | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Diogenidae |
| Genus: | Dardanus |
| Species: | D. venosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Dardanus venosus (H. Milne Edwards, 1848) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Dardanus venosus, the starry-eyed crab or stareye crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It occurs in shallow water on the eastern coasts of America from Florida southward to Brazil. It is sometimes kept in reef aquaria.
Dardanus venosus grows to a length of 7 to 12 centimetres (2.8 to 4.7 in). As a hermit crab, it lives inside the empty shell of a gastropod mollusc and its soft abdomen and most of its limbs are normally hidden with just the dactyls, or claws, projecting. Like other members of its family, it is left-handed, having its main chela or pincers on the left front limb. It uses this to cover the aperture of the shell when it feels threatened. The dactyls are a mauve colour due to the clusters of small bluish bristles that cover them. The crab's common name refers to the fact that when seen at close quarters, its eyes resemble star-bursts, being green or blue with dark pupils.[2]
Distribution and habitat
Dardanus venosus is found in Florida, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, the Antilles, Venezuela and Brazil from low tide mark down to about 40 metres (130 ft). It is found on various substrates including rock, gravel, sand, mud, shell, coral and seaweed.[3]