Dykning med Eremitkrebs

Koh Lantas Marineliv | Diogenidae

Eremitkrebs er almindelige på alle Koh Lantas dykkersteder, men man skal vide, hvad man kigger efter for at få øje på dem under et dyk.

Familien Diogenidae omfatter de 'venstrehåndede eremitkrebs', da den venstre klo er forstørret i stedet for den højre, som det er tilfældet for de fleste eremitkrebs.

Der findes 429 arter af venstrehåndede eremitkrebs, men de er faktisk ikke 'rigtige krabber', da de ikke har en ydre skal på deres bløde bagkrop.

Den manglende skal på bagkroppen gør disse krabber let tilgængelige for rovdyr, og for at beskytte sig selv lever de i forladte sneglehuse.

Hver krabbe har et par kløer og 2 par gangben. De sidste to par ben er små og modificerede og bruges sammen med vedhæng for enden af bugen til at holde fast i skallens indre hvirvler.

De kan trække hele deres krop ind i skallen for at beskytte sig selv, når det er nødvendigt. Til sidst vokser de ud af deres skal og søger efter en ny.

3 arter fundet på denne side:

Hairy Red Hermit Crab (Dardanus lagopodes)
White-spotted Hermit Crab (Dardanus megistos)
Gaimard's Hermit Crab (Calcinus gaimardii)

Hairy Red Hermit Crab

(Dardanus lagopodes)

Dardanus lagopodes @ Koh Haa

The Hairy Red Hermit Crab claws and legs are ringed alternately with varying brownish to dark red bands and lighter/whitish bands. The legs are covered with dark red bristles with white tips. The walking legs have one or two much darker bands which are almost hairless.

The eye stalks are pale yellow with dark brown or black eyes at the tips. Both short and long antennas are variably coloured from blue to yellow.

Hairy Red Hermit Crab @ Koh Haa

The Hairy Red Hermit Crab is also known as the Dark Knee Hermit Crab and grows to 4 am - 8 cm in length. The head is hairy, however the body is hairless and covered in many white spots.

White-spotted Hermit Crab

(Dardanus megistos)

Dardanus megistos @ Koh Haa

The White-spotted Hermit Crab is a left-handed hermit crab which means that the left claw is much larger than the right claw.

This crab has a red to dark orange carapace, claws and legs, covered with many dark-ringed white spots. The claws have spines and are covered in stiff bristles.

The eye stalks are dark red to maroon, with dark grey to greenish brown eyes. This species has long, white antennae, and grows to 15 cm.

Less commonly seen during the day, more usually active at night.

Gaimard's Hermit Crab

(Calcinus gaimardii)

Calcinus gaimardii @ Koh Haa

Gaimard's Hermit Crab is a left-handed hermit crab and is easily identified by the eye stalks, which are yellowish-orange to dark orange-brown, but always with a pale-blue tip with a dark-blue ring almost right at the end of each eye stalk.

The antennae are also orange and the claws and legs vary from orange to red to brown.

Gaimard's Hermit Crab grown to 2 cm in diameter and 4 - 5 cm in length.