APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

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St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- in Periwinkle shell 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- in Periwinkle shell 2

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- in Periwinkle shell 3

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- in Periwinkle shell 4

Specimen above unusually using a very bright periwinkle shell as its home, the crab was found at Battery Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall, 01.09.20. The population site at the site is large so there may be a shortage of preferred shell types, such as Dog Whelk or Netted Dog Whelk.

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- animal without shell 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- emerging from shell 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- emerging from shell 2

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- eyes 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- carapace 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- carapace 2

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- lateral view head 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- emerging from shell 3

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- claw 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- claws 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- with 0.1mm division rule 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- shallow pool habitat 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- pool Great Hogus Marazion 1

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- pool Great Hogus Marazion 2

Specimens above found in shallow pools at Great Hogus, Marazion, Cornwall, 25.03.16.

St. Piran's hermit crab
Clibanarius erythropus
- group / collection 1

Specimens above found amongst Coral Weed at Battery Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall, 30.04.16.

Clibanarius erythropus is a warmer water species, it was first found in the UK in 1960 at Mousehole, Cornwall, by Dr. N. Tregenza.

The species is by no means common, sites for it can be quite local, and years when it occurs can be sporadic and dependent on the drift of larvae from the south of Brittany. Places where the species has been found include, Plymouth, Falmouth, the Lizard, Marazion and Porthleven.

Ref: A Hermit Crab New to Britain by D. B. Carlisle & N. Tregenza.

Ref: Distribution and ecology of the hermit crab Clibanarius erythropus in the Western Channel by A.J. Southward and Eve C. Southward. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. (1977), 57, 441-452.

St. Piran's hermit crab has been used here over 'St. Piran's crab' because most crab types keep their type in their common name and I see no reason why this cannot continue.

The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help

people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.