Coenobita rugosus

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 : 537

Coenobita rugosus

The first stage crab (0.92–0.97 mm SL) has a whitish shield and brownish pigmented ocular acicles ( Fig. 11 A– C). The pigmentation of the ocular acicles changes to dark brown in juveniles with an SL of> 1 mm after one month of age ( Fig. 11 D–F, 12A, B, D, E). The upper edge of the shield is brown/dark brown in juveniles with an SL of> 1.3 mm after three months of age ( Fig. 11 E, F, 12A, B, D, E). After four months of age (> 1.8 mm SL), the shield has a brownish stripe on the anterior lower margin of each side wall in some juveniles ( Fig. 12 B, G–I) and the ocular peduncle of all specimens has a ventral brownish band ( Fig. 12 B, C, F–I). The chelipeds and the second and third pereiopods of the first stage crab are reddish ( Fig. 11 A, B); they vary in color pattern after four months of age, with brown bands on some segments ( Fig. 12 A, D–I). The palm of the left cheliped has a brown stripe/patch with a large variation in area on the posterior middle portion ( Fig. 12 F–I).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Coenobita rugosus. A (whole animal, dorsal view), B (whole animal, right lateral view), C (animal showing ocular acicles, dorsal view), N 1 (sample no. in Table 2, 0.92 mm SL, 0 months old); D (animal showing ocular acicles, right lateral view), N 6 (1.04 mm SL, 1 month old); E (whole animal, dorsal view), F (animal showing ocular acicles and shield, left lateral view), N 8 (1.34 mm SL, 3 months old).

FIGURE 12. Coenobita rugosus. A (animal showing ocular acicles, shield, and some appendages, dorsal view), B (animal showing ocular peduncles, ocular acicles, and shield, right lateral view), C (animal showing ocular peduncles, ventral view), N 10 (sample no. in Table 2, 1.78 mm SL, 4 months old); D (whole animal, dorsal view), N 15 (1.57 mm SL, 5 months old); E (whole animal dorsal view), F (animal showing ocular peduncles, shield, and some appendages, left lateral view), N 16 (1.91 mm SL, 6 months old); G (animal showing ocular peduncles, shield, and some appendages, left lateral view), N 17 (1.70 mm SL, 6 months old); H (animal showing ocular peduncles, shield, and some appendages, left lateral view), N 22 (2.07 mm SL, 8 months old); I (animal showing ocular peduncles, shield, and some appendages, left lateral view), N 24 (1.81 mm SL, 8 months old).