Gastropod Shell Species Occupied by Hermit Crabs (Anomura: Decapoda) along the Turkish Coast of the Aegean Sea

Authors: A. SUAT ATEŞ, TUNCER KATAĞAN, AHMET KOCATAŞ

Abstract: This study aimed to describe the gastropod shell species inhabited by hermit crabs (Anomura: Decapoda) collected during investigations of the decapod fauna of the Turkish Aegean Sea coast. We documented 12 hermit crab species inhabiting 16 species of gastropod shells. The hermit crab, Pagurus anachoretus Risso, 1827, had the highest inhabitation frequency (IF), inhabiting 37.5% of all the samples collected. The gastropod shell most inhabited was Bittium latreillii (Payraudeau, 1826), which accounted for 66.7% of inhabited shells.

Keywords: Shell utilization, Anomura Decapoda, Eastern Aegean Sea, Turkey

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