Coenobita cavipes

Hamasaki, Katsuyuki, Tsuru, Takuma, Sanda, Tetsuya, Fujikawa, Shunsuke, Dan, Shigeki & Kitada, Shuichi, 2017, Ontogenetic change of body color patterns in laboratory-raised juveniles of six terrestrial hermit crab species, Zootaxa 4226 (4), pp. 521-545 : 529

Coenobita cavipes

The shield of the first stage crab (0.97–1.03 mm SL) has faint brownish pigments ( Fig. 7 A, B); they develop as two longitudinal brown bands/patches on the middle portion and a dark brown band at the anterior lower portion of each side wall of the whitish/creamy shield in juveniles with an SL of> 1.2 mm after one month of age ( Fig. 7 D–F, 8A–D, G). The ocular peduncle of the first stage crab has a brownish pigment area ventrally ( Fig. 7 C), and it gradually develops to a dark brown color after one month of age ( Fig. 8 E). The ocular acicles and the upper edge of the shield exhibit a brown color in juveniles with an SL of> 1.3 mm after two months of age ( Fig. 7 F, 8A). The second and third pereiopods of the first stage crabs are reddish brown, excluding the distal and proximal parts of each segment; they appear to have whitish rings at the boundaries between segments ( Fig. 7 A, B). The palm of the left cheliped begins to develop brownish pigment areas on the upper and lower parts after one month of age ( Fig. 7 D, E); specifically, the pigment on the lower part develops as a distinct large brown patch, and the palm appears to have a longitudinal white stripe on the middle portion ( Fig. 7 F, 8C, D, F, G). The brownish bands also develop on the carpi and meri of the chelipeds, and the bands of the pereiopods become dark brown ( Fig. 7 D–F, 8C, D, F, G).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Coenobita cavipes. A (whole animal, dorsal view), B (animal showing shield, posterior carapace, and some appendages, right lateral view), C (animal showing ocular peduncles, ventral view), O 2 (sample no. in Table 1, 1.03 mm SL, 0 months old); D (whole animal, dorsal view), E (whole animal, left lateral view), O 5 (1.15 mm SL, 1 month old); F (animal showing shield, posterior carapace, and some appendages, dorsal view), O 7 (1.43 mm SL, 2 months old).

FIGURE 8. Coenobita cavipes. A (animal showing ocular acicles and shield, dorsal view), B (animal showing shield and posterior carapace, left lateral view), O 7 (sample no. in Table 1, 1.43 mm SL, 2 months old); C (animal showing shield, posterior carapace, and some appendages, dorsal view), D (whole animal, left dorsal view); E (animal showing ocular peduncles, ventral view), O 12 (1.42 mm SL, 3 months old); F (animal showing left appendages, dorsal view), G (whole animal, left lateral view), O 31 (2.49 mm SL, 10 months old).