Paguritta is a genus of hermit crabs in the family Paguridae, known as coral hermit crabs. Atypically for hermit crabs, this genus comprises species which live within polychaete tubes associated with corals (such as those of Spirobranchus giganteus),Miyake, S., 1982. Japanese Crustacean Decapods and Stomatopods in Color. I. Macrura, Anomura and Stomatopoda. Osaka, Hoikusha Publishing Co., Ltd. 261 pp. (In Japanese). or bore their own holes in living coral,Lewinsohn, Ch., 1978. Bemeikungen zurTaxonomie von Paguriita harmsi (Gordon) (Crustacea Decapoda, Anomura) und Beschreibung einer neuen Art der gleichen Gattung aus Australien. Zool. Med., 53:243-252. depending on species. They feed by filtering using their modified antennae equipped with setae and setules.Schuhmacher, H., 1977. A hermit crab, sessile on corals, exclusively feeds by feathered antennae. Oecologia (Berl.), 27: 371-374.
There are seven species assigned to this genus:
A diagnostic feature of this genus is the complete absence of pleopods in the males and their reduction in females; the former trait is shared with multiple other genera, but only the females of Anapagurus drachi experience a similar degree of pleopod reduction.Forest, J., 1966. Campagne dans le golfe de Guinee et aux les Principe, Sao Tome et Annobon (1956). 17. Crustaces Decapodes; Pagurides. Ris. Sci. Camp. Calypso. Ann. Inst. Oceanogr. n.s., 44:159-172. Another is the symmetry of their uropods, thought to be due to their niche; hermit crabs inhabiting gastropod shells have asymmetrical uropods due to the shell's spiral. Paguritta kroppi individuals may have both male and female gonopores.
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