Dardanus arrosor

(Herbst, 1796)

Vernacular names
English : Greater hermit-crab
French : Grand bernard-l’ermite

Classification
Class : Malacostraca
Order : Decapoda
Family : Diogenidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Very large hermit-crab species reaching a body length up to 60 cm. Large arms. Thick legs covered with scale-like plates. Coloration mostly orange-red with insides of legs brighter and thin wavy lines. Eye peduncles are short and thick.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the eastern Atlantic, from Spain to South Africa and Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific region east to Japan and New Zealand. Lives on all kinds of soft bottoms, from 5 m (rarely above 40 m), to 345 meters deep.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : NOT LISTED
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species has a huge range and occurs at depths where disturbance is usually minimal. It isn’t believed to face any threats at this time.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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