2013•DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)Requires access
Gastropod shell species utilized by hermit crabs (Decapoda: Anomura) along the Turkish coast of the Levantine Sea
Tahır Özcan, Bılal Öztürk, Banu Bıtlıs
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Abstract
The present study aimed to describe the gastropod shell species utilized by hermit crabs (Decapoda: Anomura) collected during investigations of the decapod fauna of the Levantine Sea coast of Turkey. Specimens were collected from July 2005 to October 2005. A total of 715 individuals belonging to 9 hermit crab species occupying 47 gastropod shell species were collected. The hermit crabs, Diogenes pugilator (Roux, 1829) and Cestopagurus timidus (Roux, 1830) had the highest inhabitation frequency (IF), inhabiting 23.92% and 23.78% of all the samples collected respectively. The nine hermit crab species captured utilizing shells fromforty-seven gastropods species. Cerithium scabridum Philippi, 1849 (100%) was the most commonly utilized shell by all hermit crabs.