# Pagurus hemphilli

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{{Short description|Species of hermit crab}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pagurus hemphilli.jpg
| genus = Pagurus
| species = hemphilli
| authority = Benedict, 1895
}}

'''''Pagurus hemphilli''''' is a [species](/source/species) of [hermit crab](/source/hermit_crab) in the family [Paguridae](/source/Paguridae). It is found in the Eastern Pacific and was described from Monterey, California.<ref name="Wicksten">{{cite web|last=Wicksten|first=Mary K.|title=Decapod Crustacea of the Californian and Oregonian Zoogeographic Provinces|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sk9t2dz|website=escholarship|date=5 January 2011 |access-date=29 January 2026|language=en}}</ref>

==Description==
''Pagurus. hemphilli'' is a rich maroon color with small blue dots, yellow-tipped dactyls, gold-ringed corneae, and red to orange-red antennae<ref name="Original Description">{{cite journal|last=Benedict|first=James E.|title=Preliminary descriptions of thirty-seven new species of hermit crabs of the genus Eupagurus in the U.S. National Museum|journal=Proceedings of the United States National Museum|language=en|volume=15|issue=887|pages=1–26|date=1892|doi=10.5479/si.00963801.15-887.1 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/52679 }}</ref> that lack spots or rings.<ref name="Salish">{{cite web |title= Key to Family Paguridae |last1=Maxwell |first1=Janisse| last2=Helmstetler|first2=Hans|last3=Cowles|first3=Dave|url=https://inverts.wallawalla.edu/Arthropoda/Crustacea/Malacostraca/Eumalacostraca/Eucarida/Decapoda/Anomura/Family_Paguridae/Paguridae_Key.html |website=wallawalla.edu |access-date=29 January 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Juveniles sometimes have white bands on their ambulatory legs. The chelipeds ("claws") are dramatically different in size, with the major cheliped being much larger than the minor cheliped.<ref name="Wicksten"/> It is almost totally hairless over its entire body and has a smooth, shiny shield.<ref name="Wicksten"/> It has a distinct rostrum that is produced well beyond the carapace lateral frontal lobes.<ref name="Wicksten"/> The chela palms are rough with visible bumps.<ref name="Wicksten"/> The uropods are asymmetrical, and the carapace can measure up to {{cvt|15|mm|1}}.<ref name="Wicksten"/>

Its congener ''[Pagurus granosimanus](/source/Pagurus_granosimanus)'' is similar in appearance,<ref name="Original Description"/> with both being dark in color with light dots,<ref name="Salish"/> but true to its name, ''P. hemphilli'' is more maroon than the olive ''P. granosimanus''.<ref name="Salish"/> and can also be separated from ''P. granosimanus'' based on the comparatively longer length of the outer portion of the carapace, even at the juvenile stage.<ref name="Original Description"/> The legs of the two species are also quite different, with ''P. hemphilli'' having legs that are dark red with tiny yellow to blue spots and a white dot at the end, whereas ''P. granosimanus'' has olive legs with light blue spots.<ref name="Salish"/>

==Range==
''Pagurus hemphilli'' ranges along the North American coast from Alaska<ref name="Alaska">{{Cite journal |last=Hart |first=Josephine F. L.|date=1980 |title= New records and extensions of range of reptant decapod Crustacea from the northeastern Pacific Ocean|doi=10.1139/z80-109|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|language=en |volume=58 |issue=5 |pages=767–769 |bibcode=1980CaJZ...58..767H }}</ref> to the Central Coast of California.<ref name="thermal tolerance">{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Phillip R.|date=January 22, 1982 |title= Environmental resistance and the ecology of coexisting hermit crabs: Thermal tolerance|doi=10.1016/0022-0981(82)90194-0|journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology|language=en |volume=57 |issue=2–3|pages= 229–236 |bibcode=1982JEMBE..57..229T }}</ref><ref name="Wicksten"/> It is more common towards the southernmost extent of its range in Central California.<ref name="Wicksten"/>

==Habitat==
''Pagurus hemphilli'' is found on rocks in shallow water.<ref name="seabase">{{cite web|title=''Pagurus hemphilli'' (Benedict, 1892) Maroon hermit |url=https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Pagurus-hemphilli.html |website=Seabase |access-date=29 January 2026 |language=en}}</ref> It mostly occupies the upper subtidal region to a depth of {{cvt|50|m}}, but can occur in low intertidal pools.<ref name="thermal tolerance"/> ''P. hemphilli'' occupies a deeper zone of the shoreline compared to its congeners, ''[Pagurus samuelis](/source/Pagurus_samuelis)'', ''[Pagurus granosimanus](/source/Pagurus_granosimanus)'', and ''[Pagurus hirsutiusculus](/source/Pagurus_hirsutiusculus)''.<ref name="thermal tolerance"/> It therefore has a comparatively lower tolerance of warm water, experiencing increased mortality from high water temperature, reportedly 50% mortality at {{cvt|30.1|C}}.<ref name="thermal tolerance"/> In the wild, it prefers waters that do not exceed {{cvt|20|C}}.<ref name="thermal tolerance"/>

==Ecology==
Most commonly, ''P. hemphilli'' dwells in the shells of ''[Tegula](/source/Tegula_(gastropod))'' species,<ref name="seabase"/> such as ''[Tegula brunnea](/source/Tegula_brunnea)'', ''[Lithopoma](/source/Lithopoma)'' species,<ref name ="seabase"/> and ''[Astraea](/source/Astraea_(gastropod))'' species.<ref name="Wicksten"/> To acquire a better shell, ''P. hemphilli'' engages in shell fights,<ref name="shell fight">{{Cite journal |last=Abrams |first=Peter A.|date=1982-05-07 |title= Frequencies of interspecific shell exchanges between hermit crabs|doi=10.1016/0022-0981(82)90024-7 |journal=Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology|language=en |volume=61 |issue=1 |pages=99–109 |bibcode=1982JEMBE..61...99A }}</ref> with the loser conceding their shell. These shell fights may be intraspecific or with other ''[Pagurus](/source/Pagurus)'' species.<ref name="shell fight"/> In these fights, the larger hermit crab has the advantage.<ref name="shell fight"/>

The shells that this species inhabits are often heavily encrusted with [coralline algae](/source/coralline_algae) and with hitchhikers like the slipper snail ''[Crepidula adunca](/source/Crepidula_adunca)'' and the limpet ''[Acmaea mitra](/source/Acmaea_mitra)''.<ref name="Wicksten"/> A species of [Amphipod](/source/Amphipod) in the genus ''[Liljeborgia](/source/Liljeborgia)'' has been observed residing with this species of hermit crab inside the shell;<ref name="Amphipod">{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=Phillip R.|date=1979 |title= An association between an amphipod, Liljeborgia sp., and the hermit crab, ''Pagurus hemphilli'' (Benedict)|doi=10.1080/10236247909378565 |journal=Marine Behaviour and Physiology |language=en |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=185–188 }}</ref> this commensal occupant remains undescribed.<ref name="undescribed">{{Cite journal |last=Marin |first=Ivan|date=2020 |title=A new species of the genus ''Liljeborgia'' Spence Bate, 1862 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Liljeborgiidae) associated with burrows of the spoon worm ''Urechis unicinctus'' in the Sea of Japan|doi=10.5852/ejt.2020.613 |doi-access=free|journal=European Journal of Taxonomy|language=en |issue=613 |pages=1–19 }}</ref>

==Etymology==
''Pagurus hemphilli'' is named after [Henry Hemphill](/source/Henry_Hemphill), an amateur American shell collector, [malacologist](/source/malacologist), and member of the [San Diego Society of Natural History](/source/San_Diego_Society_of_Natural_History).<ref name="Conchology">{{cite web |title=Shellers From the Past and the Present: Henry Hemphill |url=https://www.conchology.be/?t=9001&id=20597 |website=conchology|access-date=29 January 2026 |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4476642}}

Category:Hermit crabs
Category:Crustaceans described in 1895
Category:Crustaceans of the Pacific Ocean
{{Improve categories|date=January 2026}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pagurus hemphilli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagurus_hemphilli) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagurus_hemphilli?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.