PORT PHILLIP BAY


Jervis Bay Hermit Crab 

Pagurixus jerviensis McLaughlin & Haig, 1984

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Right cheliped sexually dimorphic, dorsal surface of chela smooth and palm often swollen or elongate in adult male, smaller in female. Left cheliped subtriangular in cross-section, armed. Ocular scale triangular with small submarginal spine. Maxilliped 3 ischium with accessory tooth. Chelipeds unequal, right larger. Pereopods 2 and 3 dactyli 4.0-4.5 times as long as broad, much shorter than propodi; pereopod 4 propodus with rasp of 1 row of spines, dactylus without preungual process. Male with right gonopore obscured by tuft of long mesially-directed setae. Male with 3 unpaired biramous pleopods, female with 4 unpaired biramous pleopods. Uropods asymmetrical. Telson with transverse suture, margin with 2 symmetrical lobes. 11 phyllobranch gills on each side.

Source: Poore, G.C.B. (2004) Marine decapod Crustacea of southern Australia. A guide to identification (with chapter on Stomatopoda by Shane Ahyong). CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, 574 pp.

Taxonomy

Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Malacostraca
Subclass:
Eumalacostraca
Superorder:
Eucarida
Order:
Decapoda
Suborder:
Pleocyemata
Infraorder:
Anomura
Family:
Paguridae
Genus:
Pagurixus
Species:
jerviensis

General Description

Palm (propodus) of right male claw (cheliped) with mesial ridge only proximally. Last segment (dactylus) of first and second walking legs (pereopods 2 and 3) 4.0-4.5 times as long as broad, much shorter than sixth segment (propodus); tail fan (telson) with narrow shallow median cleft. Carapace length to 3 mm.

Biology

This is one of the most common species of hermit crab on open coastal reefs in southern NSW and in some older books was referred to as Pagurus lacertosus. It can be distinguished from P. handrecki by its larger size, poorer development of the mesial ridge on the right male cheliped, and colour.

Habitat

Intertidal, to depths of 24 m.

Reefs

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including southern Australia.

Species Group

Hermit Crabs

Depth

Shore (0-1 m)
Shallow (1-30 m)

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

3 mm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 3868

Conservation Status

  • DSE Advisory List : Not listed
  • EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
  • IUCN Red List : Not listed

Author

article author Taylor, J.

Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.

Author

article author Poore, G.C.B.

Dr. Gary Poore is Principal Curator Emeritus at Museum Victoria.

citation

Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Poore, G.C.B., 2011, Jervis Bay Hermit Crab, Pagurixus jerviensis, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5468

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