First report of a hermit crab Clibanarius longitarsus (De Haan, 1849) (Crustacea: Anomura) from sunderbans, India

Abstract

Hermit crabs play a crucial role in the mangrove ecosystem; being scavenger in nature, they help quickly remove dead materials from soil. Hermit crabs belong to the Decapoda and superfamily Paguridae of the subphylum Crustacea. In India a total of 114 species of hermit crabs have been recorded, of which 20 species are reported so far from West Bengal. During the recent survey at Sunderban Biosphere Reserve, a hermit crab Clibanarius longitarsus De Han, 1849 was recorded, which is not hitherto reported from West Bengal. Detailed characters of the species along with the list of hermit crabs reported from West Bengal are given in this work.