Decapoda - Anomura - Coenobitidae - Coenobita

Coenobita violascens Heller, 1862



World Distribution
In need of revision because this species has been often considered as a synonym of C. cavipes. Confirmed records in Rahayu et al. (2016, The Raffles Bulletin, suppl. 34-II) are Madagascar, Mayotte, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan

Environnement : Land - Substrat/Association : Hard bottom (rock and rubbles)

Vertical range : Land & Freshwater - Min-Max observed: 0-5 m

Mayotte data
Coenobita cavipes - Bouchard et al., 2013: 12, with hesitation (see Comments) Mission KUW novembre 2009, st. 1, plage de Trévani, zone supra-tidale, 2 femelles Lc 11,3-12 mm, Lcéphalo 22-22,4 mm, Lt environ 85-102 mm, dans coquilles Achatine, photo du plus gros spécimen, MNHN Pg8453 ; st. 6, Déversoir Badamiers, Petite Terre, 1 femelle, Lc 5,6 mm, Lcéphalo 12 mm, Lt environ 34 mm, MNHN Pg8454. - Not Coenobita cavipes but C. violascens, following Rahayu et al. (2016, The Raffles Bulletin, suppl. 34-II).
Coenobita violascens - Rahayu et al., 2016: 471, same specimens than Bouchard et al. (2013), Mayotte: 2 females (sl 11.5–12.4 mm) (MNHN-IU-2009-1575), Plage de Trévani, coll. J Dumas, J Poupin & R Cléva, 1 November 2009; with this remark 'Specimens we have examined from Madagascar and Mayotte also correspond to C. violascens (unpublished morphological and molecular data).'

Comment(s) on data
Comment: in Bouchard et al. (2013) for determination of Mayotte specimens - This species has been sometimes considered as a junior synonym of Coenobita violascens Heller, 1862, described from Nicobar Islands, Eastern Indian Ocean (see Fize & Serène, 1955). Although both species are now considered valid they are closely related and characters used to distinguish them are in need of revision. Mayotte specimens are tentatively attributed to C. cavipes on the basis of key characters given by Nakasone (1988) and previous WIO records: Somalia (Vannini, 1976), Kenya (Reay & Haig, 1990) and Seychelles (Haig, 1984). In Coenobita cavipes the upper outer surface of the left chela is without stridulating mechanism (i.e. an oblique series of laminar crests), a character that can be used to distinguish it from the two other Coenobita collected in Mayotte, C. perlatus and C. rugosus both with this stridulating mechanism. - This Mayotte record has been corrected into C. violascens in Rahayu & al. (2016).

References : PDF list, 214 pp (1.4 Mo)

This species in Worms Database