Polyonyx gibbesi, the eastern tube crab, is a species of porcelain crab in the family Porcellanidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Distribution and habitat P. gibbesi is mostly found along the western Atlantic Ocean from the Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Uruguay. The porcelain crab has been found along the coast of Argentina in the stomach contents a narrownose smooth-hound shark. Within the tropical region of this range, the porcelain crab is less common and only found sporadically.
The porcelain crab lives in sandy or muddy substrates. Once in their adult stage, they live in the tunnels of tube-dwelling annelids.
Ecology P. gibbesi has a symbiotic relationship with tube-dwelling annelid worms. They live in the tunnel of these annelids, such as those in the genus Chaetopterus, known as the parchment worms. The porcelain crabs typically live as male-female pairs within the tunnels.
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