Chemically Stimulated Visual Orientation and Shape Discrimination by the Hermit Crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc)

1994 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Humberto Diaz ◽  
Richard B. Forward ◽  
Beatriz Orihuela ◽  
Dan Rittschof
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Visual Orientation ◽  
Shape Discrimination ◽  
Clibanarius Vittatus

Gastropod predation sites: the role of predator and prey in chemical attraction of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Rittschof ◽  
C.M. Kratt ◽  
A.S. Clare
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Gland ◽  
Ionic Strength ◽  
Salivary Glands ◽  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Muscle Proteins ◽  
Clibanarius Vittatus ◽  
Low Ionic Strength

Gastropod shells are essential to most hermit crabs. Shell availability limits hermit crab populations. Shells provide protection and the degree of shell-fit controls crab growth and fecundity. Crabs locate new gastropod shells from a distance under water by molecules released from gastropod flesh during predation events. Here we test the hypothesis that the salivary glands of the predatory gastropod are the source of enzymes that digest muscle proteins and release peptide attractants. We describe the anatomy of both the acinous salivary glands and the tubular accessory salivary glands of Busycon contrarium which are similar to those of B. carica. The salivary gland ducts empty at the mouth, suggesting a role in the primary digestion of food. We show that gastropod muscle proteins, extracted by salt solutions with the ionic strength of sea water and purified by precipitation in low ionic strength can be digested by gastropod salivary gland enzymes to generate peptides attractive to the hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus, in field assays.

scholarly journals Growth of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) (Crustacea, Anomura, Diogenidae) at São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 547-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Sampaio Sant’Anna ◽  
Ronaldo Adriano Christofoletti ◽  
Cilene Mariane Zangrande ◽  
Alvaro Luis Diogo Reigada
Keyword(s):  
Growth Pattern ◽  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Seasonal Growth ◽  
Asymptotic Size ◽  
Clibanarius Vittatus ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Shield Length

The present study analyzed the growth of males and females of the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802), at São Vicente, São Paulo, Brazil. Monthly collections were made from May/2001 through April/2003, at the Pescadores Beach in São Vicente. The 2,501 crabs caught were identified and sexed and the carapace shield length (CSL) was measured. For the seasonal growth study, the population was divided into 5mm size classes (CSL) and analyzed by the Bertalanffy method, with the aid of the program Fisat II. The mean sizes of the 703 males and 1,798 females were 8.94±1.80 and 6.61±1.13 mm, respectively. A seasonal growth pattern was observed, with males reaching an asymptotic size (14.92 mm) larger than that of females (13.85 mm). Males began the growth process approximately five months before the females. This growth pattern probably helped to reduce intraspecific competition for the shells, because the males reached larger size and made the smaller shells available to the females.

scholarly journals Characterization of the occupied shells by the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus (Decapoda, Diogenidae) at Baixio Mirim tideflat, Guaratuba Bay, southern Brazil

2010 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara R. Sampaio ◽  
Setuko Masunari
Keyword(s):  
Hermit Crab ◽  
Spring Tide ◽  
Hermit Crabs ◽  
Correlation Ratio ◽  
Stramonita Haemastoma ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Clibanarius Vittatus ◽  
Successful Establishment ◽  
Shield Length

A characterization of the occupied shells by the hermit crab Clibanarius vittatus was carried out. Hermit crabs were collected in the intertidal zone, during the low spring tide monthly from April 2005 to March 2006. They were sexed and their cephalothoracic shield length (CL) was measured. Shells were identified, dried, weighed and the aperture length (AL) and width (AW) were measured. 1187 crabs were collected (949 males, 216 females and 22 intersexes), which occupied 12 species of gastropod shells. Stramonita haemastoma, Olivancillaria urceus and Dorsanum moniliferum made up 96.55% of the total shell species. Male hermit crabs attained significantly larger sizes than females; therefore, males occupied a wider spectrum of shells in size and weight. A stronger correlation ratio was obtained between CL and AW of S. haemastoma. Last whorl with a rounded shape and a spacious inner area is a common feature of all shell species most frequently occupied by this hermit crab where it occurs. The successful establishment of C. vittatus at Baixio Mirim is mainly due to the appropriately shaped and wide range of size of S. haemastoma shells that were most often occupied by the hermit crabs of the studied population.

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