First Record of the Diogenid Hermit Crab Aniculus erythraeus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) from Japan

Abstract

Aniculus erythraeus Forest, 1984, a poorly known species of hermit crab, is reported for the first time from Japan based on a single specimen collected from Kume Island, Ryukyu Islands. This discovery increases the number of Japanese species of Aniculus to seven and greatly extends the distributional range of the present species to the north. Differences between A. erythraeus and its close congener A. ursus (Olivier, 1812) are discussed on the basis of the specimens from the Ryukyu Islands.