Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL), Hawaii, USA
Info
This large deep sea hermit crab is the second largest hermit crab in Hawaiii and one of the rarest in the world.
The top of the body is yellowish brown or creamy white, the carapace is marked with darker orange areas and lines, and the underside of the body and legs are almost white.
The legs of this crayfish are covered with spines and tufts of stiff orange hairs on the upper and outer sides.
The chelipeds are colored black, and the walking legs also end in a black colored claw.
The antennae are bright orange-red in color.
Dardanus brachyops is rarely seen, living in the deeper waters on the outside of the reef.
Specimens from Hawaiii are usually caught at depths greater than 100 feet, and the only specimen from Madagascar was caught at a depth of about 250 feet.
This species inhabits shells of the genus Tonna, which it decorates with anemones (Calliactis sp),
This hermit is regularly found in deep lobster traps in the Northwestern Hawaiiian Islands and is not that rare, at least in Hawaiii.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiii Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use the photo.
The top of the body is yellowish brown or creamy white, the carapace is marked with darker orange areas and lines, and the underside of the body and legs are almost white.
The legs of this crayfish are covered with spines and tufts of stiff orange hairs on the upper and outer sides.
The chelipeds are colored black, and the walking legs also end in a black colored claw.
The antennae are bright orange-red in color.
Dardanus brachyops is rarely seen, living in the deeper waters on the outside of the reef.
Specimens from Hawaiii are usually caught at depths greater than 100 feet, and the only specimen from Madagascar was caught at a depth of about 250 feet.
This species inhabits shells of the genus Tonna, which it decorates with anemones (Calliactis sp),
This hermit is regularly found in deep lobster traps in the Northwestern Hawaiiian Islands and is not that rare, at least in Hawaiii.
We sincerely thank the Hawaiii Undersea Research Lab (HURL) for permission to use the photo.
