Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

<em>Pagurus hedleyi</em> [from Miers 1884: pl. 28 fig. C]

Pagurus hedleyi [from Miers 1884: pl. 28 fig. C]

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Family PAGURIDAE Latreille, 1802

Introduction

The Paguridae is the most speciose family of 'hermit crabs' on a worldwide basis, but interestingly, in Australian waters it has little more than one third the number of species in the Diogenidae. Species are found in all oceans, and from a variety of habitats and depths. Most species are relatively small in size, and, despite considerable attention in recent years, the Australian fauna can still be considered quite poorly known.

A selection of the most important papers dealing with the Australian fauna includes: Gunn & McLaughlin (1988); Gunn & Morgan (1992); Haig & Ball (1988); McLaughlin (1981, 1994); McLaughlin & Haig (1984, 1989); McLaughlin & Lemaitre (1993); Morgan (1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993); and de Saint Laurent & McLaughlin (2000).

 

Diagnosis

Carapace and body paguroid in form ('hermit crabs'). Carapace narrow, posterior part usually membranous and soft. Antennular flagellum ending in a filament. First maxillipeds with distinct flagellum. Third maxillipeds widely separated basally, with large sternite; ischium usually with crista dentata developed; accessory tooth present or absent. Chelipeds unequal with right the larger, or sometimes subequal. Second and third pereiopods cylindrical; fourth and fifth reduced, one or both chelate, subchelate, or semichelate. Abdomen soft, imperfectly segmented, usually twisted and without distinct calcified tergal plates. Males usually with three or four unpaired left pleopods, occasionally all pleopods absent; frequently with paired or unpaired sexual tubes protruding from coxae of fifth pereiopods. Females usually with three, four or five (rarely three) unpaired left pleopods, occasionally with a pair of pleopods on first abdominal segment. Telson usually with median constriction, lateral terminal margins usually with median cleft. Uropods present, usually asymmetrical, modified as holdfasts. Gills usually typically composed of 11 pairs of phyllobranchiae (10 arthrobranchiae and 1 pleurobranchia of fourth pereiopod), rarely 9, 10 or 13 pairs. (After Miyake 1978; and P.A. McLaughlin, pers. comm.).

 

General References

de Saint Laurent, M. & McLaughlin, P.A. 2000. Superfamily Paguroidea, family Paguridae. pp. 104-209 in Forest, J., de Saint Laurent, M., McLaughlin, P.A. & Lemaitre, R. The marine fauna of New Zealand: Paguridea (Decapoda: Anomura) exclusive of the Lithodidae. NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 114: 1-250

Gunn, S.W. & McLaughlin, P.A. 1988. The rediscovery of Pagurus acantholepis (Stimpson) (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae). Memoirs of Museum Victoria 49(1): 67-71

Gunn, S.W. & Morgan, G.J. 1992. A new species of Pagurixus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguridae) from southern Australia. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 53(1): 31-41

Haig, J. & Ball, E.E. 1988. Hermit crabs from north Australian and eastern Indonesian waters (Crustacea Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) collected during the 1975 Alpha Helix Expedition. Records of the Australian Museum 40(3): 151-196

McLaughlin, P.A. 1981. Revision of Pylopagurus and Tomopagurus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguridae), with the descriptions of new genera and species. Part 1. Ten new genera of the Paguridae and a redescription of Tomopagurus A. Milne Edwards & Bouvier. Bulletin of Marine Science 31(1): 1-30

McLaughlin, P.A. 1994. A new genus and two new species of deep-water hermit crabs (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae) from the Southern Ocean. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 107(3): 469-481

McLaughlin, P.A. & Haig, J. 1984. A review of Pagurixus (Decapoda, Anomura, Paguridae) and descriptions of new species. Crustaceana 47(2): 120-148

McLaughlin, P.A. & Haig, J. 1989. On the status of Pylopaguropsis zebra (Henderson), P. magnimanus (Henderson), and Galapagurus teevanus Boone, with descriptions of seven new species of Pylopaguropsis (Crustacea: Anomura: Paguridae). Micronesica 22(2): 123-171

McLaughlin, P.A. & Lemaitre, R. 1993. A review of the hermit crab genus Paguritta (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguridae) with descriptions of three new species. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 41(1): 1-29

Miyake, S. 1978. The Crustacea Anomura of Sagami Bay. Tokyo : Biological Laboratory Imperial Household 200 pp. [English], 161 pp. [Japanese], 4 pls.

Morgan, G.J. 1987. Hermit crabs (Decapoda, Anomura: Coenobitidae, Diogenidae, Paguridae) of Darwin and Port Essington, northern Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 4(1): 165-186

Morgan, G.J. 1989. The hermit crabs (Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae, Paguridae) of southwestern Australia, with descriptions of two new species. Records of the Australian Museum 14(3): 391-417

Morgan, G.J. 1990. A collection of Thalassinidea, Anomura and Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) from the Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. Zoologische Verhandelingen (Leiden) 265: 1-90

Morgan, G.J. 1992. The hermit crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Coenobitidae, Diogenidae, Paguridae) of Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean, with description of a new species of Paguristes. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 40(2): 163-174

Morgan, G.J. 1993. Three new species of Pagurixus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Paguridae) from Western Australia, with notes on other Australian species. pp. 163-181 in Wells, F.E., Walker, D.E., Kirkman, H. & Lethbridge, R. (eds). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Perth : Western Australian Museum Vol. 1 634 pp.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
24-Apr-2012 24-Apr-2012 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)