Caribbean hermit crab Caribbean hermit crab The Caribbean hermit crab, Coenobita clypeatus, also known as the soldier crab, the West Atlantic crab, the tree crab, and the purple pincher (due to the distinctive purple claw), is a species of land hermit crab native to the west Atlantic, Bahamas, Belize, southern Florida, Venezuela, the Virgin Islands, and the West Indies. Adults burrow and hide under the roots of large trees, and can be found a considerable distance inland. As with other terrestrial crabs, they utilize modified gills to breathe air. Their shell helps maintain the humidity necessary for gas exchange to function. Caribbean hermit
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