Hermit Crabs of the Family Diogenidae Ortmann, 1892 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in Indonesia: Diversity, Distribution and Habitat
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Abstract
Hermit crabs of the family Diogenidae are ubiquitous organisms along the coasts of the Indonesian archipelago. This study aims to contribute additional data to enhance the current understanding of the geographical distribution patterns, bathymetric distribution, and habitat preferences of diogenid hermit crab species within the framework of Indonesia’s marine ecoregions. Distributional data of Diogenidae in Indonesian waters were obtained from scientific literature, dissertations, and unpublished Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense (MZB) specimen data. The diversity analysis of the family Diogenidae in Indonesia identified 116 species in 13 genera. These hermit crabs are widely distributed throughout the country, occurring in all 12 previously defined marine ecoregions. They are found across a broad depth range, and most species are found in more than one substrate such as rocky shores, sand flats, and muddy bottoms, as well as ecosystems including seagrass beds, mangroves, and coral reefs. Seventy percent of species inhabit the littoral zone, which extends from 0 to a depth of 50 m. Among the species studied, Paguropsis andersoni exhibited the broadest vertical distribution, ranging from the littoral zone down to the bathyal zone, with recorded depths between 30 and 548 m. The genera Diogenes and Clibanarius comprise the highest number of species, with 27 and 26 respectively. Among the ecoregions analyzed, the Banda Sea shows the greatest species richness, with a total of 66 identified species of Diogenidae. The most commonly found species in Indonesian waters is Clibanarius striolatus.
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