Hermit Crab Antennae – Coenobita species

Land hermit crabs have two pairs of antennae. The antennae are vital sensory organs that allow Coenobita to locate the ocean, their food and to explore their surroundings. Coenobita rely on humidity in the air to aid them in smelling and locating various odors. In Coenobita Violascens the antennal acicle is fused with second peduncular segment. To capture odors, crustaceans move their antennules back and forth through the water in a motion called flicking.

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Overview of the anatomy of a land hermit crab (Coenobita)

Photo Credits:
Stacy Griffith

References

https://www.gbri.org.au/OldClasses/2012/Dardanusmegistos%7CStormMartin.aspx

Marcus C. Stensmyr, Susanne Erland, Eric Hallberg, Rita Wallén, Peter Greenaway, Bill S. Hansson,
Insect-Like Olfactory Adaptations in the Terrestrial Giant Robber Crab,

Krång Anna-Sara, Knaden Markus, Steck Kathrin and Hansson Bill S. 2012Transition from sea to land: olfactory function and constraints in the terrestrial hermit crab Coenobita clypeatusProc. R. Soc. B.2793510–3519

Groh-Lunow Katrin C. , Getahun Merid N. , Grosse-Wilde Ewald , Hansson Bill S. Expression of ionotropic receptors in terrestrial hermit crab’s olfactory sensory neurons

Groh KC, Vogel H, Stensmyr MC, Grosse-Wilde E, Hansson BS. The hermit crab’s nose-antennal transcriptomics.

Tuchina O, Groh KC, Talarico G, Müller CH, Wielsch N, Hupfer Y, Svatoš A, Grosse-Wilde E, Hansson BS. Morphology and histochemistry of the aesthetasc-associated epidermal glands in terrestrial hermit crabs of the genus Coenobita (Decapoda: Paguroidea). PLoS One. 2014 May 7;9(5):e96430. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096430. PMID: 24805352; PMCID: PMC4013018.

Waldrop LD, Bantay RM, Nguyen QV. Scaling of olfactory antennae of the terrestrial hermit crabs Coenobita rugosus and Coenobita perlatus during ontogeny. PeerJ. 2014 Aug 19;2:e535. doi: 10.7717/peerj.535. PMID: 25177536; PMCID: PMC4145066.

Tuchina Oksana , Koczan Stefan , Harzsch Steffen , Rybak Jürgen , Wolff Gabriella , Strausfeld Nicholas J., Hansson Bill S. Central projections of antennular chemosensory and mechanosensory afferents in the brain of the terrestrial hermit crab (Coenobita clypeatus; Coenobitidae, Anomura)

Polanska MA, Kirchhoff T, Dircksen H, Hansson BS, Harzsch S. Functional morphology of the primary olfactory centers in the brain of the hermit crab Coenobita clypeatus (Anomala, Coenobitidae). Cell Tissue Res. 2020 Jun;380(3):449-467. doi: 10.1007/s00441-020-03199-5. Epub 2020 Apr 2. PMID: 32242250; PMCID: PMC7242284.