PORT PHILLIP BAY


Tiny Hermit Crab 

Micropagurus acantholepis (Stimpson, 1858)

View scientific description and taxonomy

Scientific Details

Carapace pear-shaped, strongly narrowing anteriorly, without mesogastric tubercle; surface setose between groups of strong curled setae. Rostral spines diverging. Supraorbital margin comprising eave without preorbital, with weak or no antorbital spine, without intercalated spine, and with a postorbital spine remote from the eye and offering no protection. Walking legs with propodi cylindrical.

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:
Micropagurus
Species:
acantholepis

General Description

Claws (chelipeds) unequal, right larger than left. Abdomen asymmetrical, typically large and twisted. Walking legs (pereopods) not dorsally armed. Male sexual tube especially obvious. Red-brown mottled on background of yellow. Up to 12 mm long.

Biology

This tiny hermit crab is a drab dirty yellow, mottled with red-brown, and has thinner claws than others. The lobe above each eye is decorated with tiny spines; other species have just a simple spike but a microscope is needed to see this feature.

Habitat

Intertidal under stones, to depths of 45 m.

Reefs

Soft substrates

Distribution guide

Southern temperate oceans, including south-eastern Australia.

Species Group

Hermit Crabs

Depth

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

Water Column

On or near sea floor

Max Size

12 mm

Diet

Organic matter

Commercial Species

No

Global Dispersal

Native to Australia

Species Code

MoV 699

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, Tiny Hermit Crab, Micropagurus acantholepis, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 22 Dec 2024, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/5467

Text: creative commons cc by licence