Shell selection in the Land Hermit Crab, Coenobita scaevola (Forskål, 1775), from Larak Island, Persian Gulf (Decapoda: Coenobitidae)

Abstract

Identification and some shell selection indices of Land Hermit Crabs, Coenobita scaevola (Forskål, 1775), were studied in the Larak Island from July 2009 to March 2010. This is the only hermit crab found on the island. Among 326 specimens studied, 15 different gastropod shell types were used by the crabs as shelters, the selection of which was found to be mainly related to the availability of the shells in the environment. More than 280 laboratory tests indicated that if there was no limitation in finding different species of gastropod shells, then the preferred species were different from those that were selected in the natural ecosystem. It was also found that the bigger the crab, the larger the shells that they preferred, rather than those that fitted them, so that the shell could be used for longer periods of time.

Keywords:

• Crustacea
• shell selection behaviour
• Coenobita scaevola.

Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to the Ecological Research Centre of the Persian Gulf & Oman Sea (Bandar Abbas) for the assistance provided. We also acknowledge the assistance received from M. Heydari, M. Ehsanpour and M. Afkhami during this study.