Dardanus megistos (Herbst, 1804)

Rahayu, Dwi Listyo, 2022, Hermit crabs of Singapore (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae, Paguridae), with description of two new species, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 70, pp. 329-363 : 332

Dardanus megistos (Herbst, 1804)

( Fig. 2E )

Cancer megistos Herbst, 1804: 23 , pl. 61, fig. 1 (type locality unknown).

Pagurus megistos ; Fize & Serène, 1955: 160, fig. 24, pl. 4A, figs. 1–3.

Dardanus megistos ; Rahayu, 1996: 339; McLaughlin et al., 2007: 94, unnumbered fig.; Malay et al., 2018: 51, fig. 4C.

Material examined. 1 specimen (not preserved), St. John’s Island , 2013 .

Colour in life. Shield, abdomen, and appendages orangish red or bright red with white spots. Ocular peduncles bright red, narrow white band at base of corneas; corneas brownish red; antennal and antennular peduncles orange, antennal flagella white.

Distribution. Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific; intertidal, sandy muddy substrate.

Remarks. The species is easily recognised by the orangish red colour with white spots on the shield and appendages. This is a common species in the Indo-West Pacific, but rarely collected in Singapore.

Figures

Fig. 2. A, B, Dardanus hessii (Miers, 1884), male, 13.8 mm (ZRC 2021.0105), B, photo from Rahayu & Ong, 2015; C, D, Dardanus lagopodes (Forskål, 1775), male, 14.9 mm (ZRC 2021.0106); E, Dardanus megistos (Herbst, 1804), not measured, St John’s Island, 2013.