Ecuadorian hermit crab Ecuadorian hermit crab The Ecuadorian hermit crab (Coenobita compressus) also known as the Pacific hermit crab is a species of land hermit crab. It is one of the two land hermit crabs commonly sold in North America as a pet, the other being the Caribbean hermit crab ("Coenobita clypeatus"). "Coenobita compressus" is a member of the phylum Arthropoda and the class Malacostraca. They can be up to in length and are thought to be one of the smallest species of land hermit crabs. They have four walking legs, a small pincer, a large pincer, and antennae. Many people who keep
Stripe-throated hermit been considered a subspecies of the little hermit ("P. longuemareus"), but morphological data suggest it may be closer to the grey-chinned hermit ("P. griseolaris"). At present most, if not all, major authorities accept the split (SACC, the Clements check list, the Howard & Moore check list, etc.). It has been suggested that the mainly Central American taxon "saturatus", which typically is considered a subspecies of "P. striigularis", may deserve species status, in which case it would become the dusky hermit or Boucard's hermit ("P. saturatus"). The taxon "adolphi" is considered a junior synonym of "saturatus" by most authorities. It occurs