Coenobita rugosus
Encyclopedia
Coenobita rugosus is a species of land hermit crab
native to Australia
and the east African coast to the south west Pacific.
C. rugosus has four walking legs
, a small pincer
, a large pincer, and antennae
. When threatened C. rugosus is able to make a 'chirping' sound by rubbing its large pincer against its shell as a stridatory aparatus.
C. rugosus vary in colour depending on nutritional intake and common colours include green, brown and tan, but black, white, pink, and blue have also been observed. They can be differentiated from other species of land hermit crabs by the pronounced striations (stitch marks) on their large pincer. Coenobita compressus and Coenobita perlatus also possess these striations to a lesser extent but can easily be distinguished from C. rugosus by size and colour; especially in the case of the C. perlatus which is a striking red colour as an adult.
They can be 15 millimetre (0.590551181102362 in) in length and their eyestalk
s are sandy in colour and may have a brown stripe on the bottom of them. The bottom pair of the second antena are light orange in colour. Their big claw has 7 ridges on the upper part and there is usually hair on the inside of both claws. On the last pair of walking legs, on the second segment, it is flattened and the colour is lighter. The abdomen is short and fat.
As with other species of land hermit crabs C. rugosus are scavenger
s and will consume plants, dead fish
, fruit
and other detritus
.
Hermit crab
Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and the east African coast to the south west Pacific.
C. rugosus has four walking legs
Arthropod leg
The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: coxa , trochanter , femur, tibia, tarsus, ischium, metatarsus, carpus, dactylus ,...
, a small pincer
Pincer (biology)
A pincer is the part of an arthropod that enables it to carry loads, to defend against other creatures, or to attack prey. In insects, the pincers are usually part of the creature's mandible, and often venom or acid can be injected through the pincer into an enemy during a pincer strike.Some...
, a large pincer, and antennae
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
. When threatened C. rugosus is able to make a 'chirping' sound by rubbing its large pincer against its shell as a stridatory aparatus.
C. rugosus vary in colour depending on nutritional intake and common colours include green, brown and tan, but black, white, pink, and blue have also been observed. They can be differentiated from other species of land hermit crabs by the pronounced striations (stitch marks) on their large pincer. Coenobita compressus and Coenobita perlatus also possess these striations to a lesser extent but can easily be distinguished from C. rugosus by size and colour; especially in the case of the C. perlatus which is a striking red colour as an adult.
They can be 15 millimetre (0.590551181102362 in) in length and their eyestalk
Eyestalk
In anatomy, an eyestalk is a protrusion that extends the eye away from the body, giving the eye a better field of view than if it were unextended. It is common in nature and in fiction....
s are sandy in colour and may have a brown stripe on the bottom of them. The bottom pair of the second antena are light orange in colour. Their big claw has 7 ridges on the upper part and there is usually hair on the inside of both claws. On the last pair of walking legs, on the second segment, it is flattened and the colour is lighter. The abdomen is short and fat.
As with other species of land hermit crabs C. rugosus are scavenger
Scavenger
Scavenging is both a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding behavior in which individual scavengers search out dead animal and dead plant biomass on which to feed. The eating of carrion from the same species is referred to as cannibalism. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by...
s and will consume plants, dead fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and other detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
.