Abstract
The intrinsic optimum temperatures (TΦ) for the zoeal stages of five species of the terrestrial hermit crab genera Birgus and Coenobita, namely B. latro, C. brevimanus, C. purpureus, C. rugosus, and C. violascens, were estimated based on the relationship between temperature and the number of developmental days using the nonlinear thermodynamic Sharpe–Schoolfield–Ikemoto model. The results showed that the TΦ estimates (approximately 26 °C) corresponded to the temperatures at which high survival rates were observed for the zoeae, except for C. rugosus, whose TΦ was approximately 24 °C. The low TΦ of C. rugosus when compared to the other species may have been due to the relatively high northern latitude of its distribution and its late breeding season. The optimum temperatures determined for these terrestrial hermit crabs would be useful in understanding and predicting the changes in and northward expansion of their distributions.
https://ror.org/02gmwvg31 
