''Clibanarius'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

hermit crab Hermit crabs are anomuran Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Paguroidea that have adapted to occupy empty scavenged mollusc shells to protect their fragile exoskeletons. There are over 800 species of hermit c ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Diogenidae The Diogenidae are a family of hermit crabs, sometimes known as "left-handed hermit crabs" because in contrast to most other hermit crabs, its left chela (claw) is enlarged instead of the right. It comprises 429 extant species, and a further 46 ...

. Like other hermit crabs, their

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

is soft-shelled and sheltered in a

gastropod shell The gastropod shell is part of the body of many gastropods, including snails, a kind of mollusc. The shell is an exoskeleton, which protects from predators, mechanical damage, and dehydration, but also serves for muscle attachment and calcium ...

. Typically marine like all their relatives, the genus includes '' C. fonticola'', the only known hermit crab

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

that spends all its life in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

. The feeding rates of ''Clibanarius'' species change with temperature which, given their broad distributions, may have considerable consequences for the stability reef systems as sea temperatures rise in the future. They are

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...

s, but mostly prey on small animals and

scavenge Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding be ...

carrion Carrion (), also known as a carcass, is the decaying flesh of dead animals. Overview Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters (or scavengers) include crows, vultures ...

Species

As of 2009, about sixty

are recognized in ''Clibanarius''; new species are discovered and described occasionally. Others have been placed here at one time or another but are now assigned to other genera of

, namely '' Bathynarius, Calcinus, Paguristes, Strigopagurus'' and '' Trizopagurus''. The ''Clibanarius'' species are: *'' Clibanarius aequabilis'' (Dana, 1851) *'' Clibanarius africanus'' Aurivillus, 1898 *'' Clibanarius albidigitus'' Nobili, 1901 *'' Clibanarius ambonensis'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius antennatus'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius antillensis'' Stimpson, 1859 *'' Clibanarius arethusa'' De Man, 1888 *'' Clibanarius astathes'' (Stebbing, 1924) *'' Clibanarius bimaculatus'' De Haan, 1849 *'' Clibanarius bistriatus'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius boschmai'' Buitendijk, 1937 *'' Clibanarius carnifex'' Heller, 1861 *'' Clibanarius chapini'' Schmitt, 1926 *'' Clibanarius clibanarius'' (Herbst, 1791) *'' Clibanarius cooki'' Rathbun, 1900 *'' Clibanarius corallinus'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1848) *'' Clibanarius cruentatus'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1848) *'' Clibanarius danai'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius demani'' Buitendijk, 1937 *'' Clibanarius digueti'' Bouvier, 1898 *'' Clibanarius englaucus'' Ball & Haig, 1972 *''

Clibanarius erythropus ''Clibanarius erythropus'' is a species of hermit crab that lives in rockpools and sublittoral waters. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Azores to Brittany, the Channel Islands and as far north a ...

'' (Latreille, 1818) *'' Clibanarius eurysternus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1879) *'' Clibanarius fonticola'' McLaughlin & Murray, 1990 *'' Clibanarius foresti'' Holthuis, 1959 *'' Clibanarius harisi'' Rahayu, 2003 *'' Clibanarius hirsutimanus'' Kobjakova, 1971 *'' Clibanarius humilis'' (Dana, 1851) *'' Clibanarius inaequalis'' (De Haan, 1849) *'' Clibanarius infraspinatus'' ( Hilgendorf, 1869) *'' Clibanarius janethaigae'' Hendrickx & Esparza-Haro, 1997 *'' Clibanarius laevimanus'' Buitendijk, 1937 *'' Clibanarius lineatus'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1848) *'' Clibanarius longitarsus'' (De Haan, 1849) *'' Clibanarius merguiensis'' De Man, 1888 *'' Clibanarius multipunctatus'' Wang & Tung, 1986 *'' Clibanarius nathi'' Chopra & Das, 1940 *'' Clibanarius olivaceus'' Henderson, 1915 *'' Clibanarius pacificus'' Stimpson, 1858 *'' Clibanarius padavensis'' De Man, 1888 *'' Clibanarius ransoni'' Forest, 1953 *'' Clibanarius rhabdodactylus'' Forest, 1953 *'' Clibanarius rosewateri'' Manning & Chace, 1990 *'' Clibanarius rubroviria'' Rahayu, 1999 *'' Clibanarius rutilus'' Rahayu, 1999 *'' Clibanarius sachalinicus'' Kobjakova, 1955 *'' Clibanarius sclopetarius'' (Herbst, 1796) *'' Clibanarius senegalensis'' Chevreux & Bouvier, 1892 *'' Clibanarius serenei'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius signatus'' Heller, 1861 *'' Clibanarius similis'' Rahayu & Forest, 1993 *'' Clibanarius snelliusi'' Buitendijk, 1937 *'' Clibanarius striolatus'' Dana, 1852 *'' Clibanarius taeniatus'' (H. Milne-Edwards, 1848) *'' Clibanarius tricolor'' (Gibbes, 1850) *'' Clibanarius virescens'' (Krauss, 1843) *''

Clibanarius vittatus The thinstripe hermit crab, ''Clibanarius vittatus'', is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It is found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean. Description Like other hermit crabs, ''Clibanarius ...

'' (Bosc, 1802) *'' Clibanarius willeyi'' Southwell, 1910 *'' Clibanarius zebra'' Dana, 1852 '' Clibanarius elongatus'' (H. Milne Edwards, 1848) is a ''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

''.

References

Diogenidae Taxa named by James Dwight Dana Decapod genera {{Anomura-stub