Paguristes puncticeps

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Arthropoda · Class: Malacostraca · Order: Decapoda · Family: Diogenidae · Genus: Paguristes.

Accepted name: Paguristes puncticeps · Authority: Benedict, 1901 · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 368275.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=368275 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Paguristes puncticeps. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Depth range: 10–31 m · Habitat zone: benthic · Fishery importance: commercial.

SeaLifeBase notes: Minimum depth from Ref. 126153. Subtidal to a depth of 31 m. Found in corals (Ref. 97531).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 26689) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Paguristes-puncticeps.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

492 georeferenced occurrence records for Paguristes puncticeps are published through GBIF from 27 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 107 distinct locations from a sample of 492 records, omitting 12 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (188); Guadeloupe (69); Mexico (56); Cayman Islands (28); Bahamas (18); Cuba (18); Saint Martin (French part) (15); Belize (14); Honduras (12); Panama (12); Jamaica (9); Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (7); Martinique (6); Turks and Caicos Islands (6); Colombia (5).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Gulf of Mexico; Martinican Exclusive Economic Zone; Lesser Antilles; Los Roques, Islas; Saint Martin; Guadeloupean Exclusive Economic Zone; Statia; Saint John; Isla Blanquilla; Tortue; Colombian part of the Caribbean Sea.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2224486) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2224486&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=368275 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

P. puncticeps is a large hermit crab, growing to a length of 8 to 13 cm, including the limbs and chelae (claws). It is a dark red or rusty-brown colour with the hairy carapace and limbs spotted boldly with white. The antennae and eye stalks are also dark red and the irises of the eyes are blue. In most members of this family, the left chela is larger than the right one, but in the case of P. puncticeps, there is little difference in size between the two.

P. puncticeps occurs in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Its range extends from Florida to Brazil and includes Cuba, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Martin. Its depth range is from the low tide mark down to about 40 m. It usually occurs in coral reef habitats.

P. puncticeps is a scavenger and detritivore, feeding on any animal or vegetable matter that it finds. Breeding takes place throughout the year. The first larval stages take place in the egg, which then hatches into a planktonic zoeal larva. When fully developed, this settles on the seabed and undergoes metamorphosis into a juvenile, which will need to find a small vacant shell in which to live. The empty shells of the queen conch (Aliger gigas) are often used by this hermit crab, and shells of the Florida horse conch (Triplofusus papillosus), the largest gastropod mollusc in the northern Gulf of Mexico, are favoured by larger individuals, as are the large snails on which this mollusc preys.

A factor limiting populations of hermit crabs in any area is often the availability of empty gastropod shells for them to occupy. Cephalopods such as the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and the Caribbean reef octopus (Octopus briareus) feed on lobsters, crabs, hermit crabs, and molluscs, often carrying their prey back to their den, where they deposit the inedible parts nearby, forming a midden. They often extract their prey through the aperture of the shell, leaving the structure intact. The midden constitutes a source of empty shells available for use by hermit crabs, and P. puncticeps individuals have been observed carrying empty shells away from the pile. The middens also attract hermit crabs which feed on food scraps left by the octopus, but feeding close to the octopus den is a risky business. Smaller hermit crabs (shield length less than 5 mm) sometimes live inside the octopus den, feeding on food scraps discarded by the octopus.

Source: Wikipedia: Paguristes puncticeps — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paguristes_puncticeps (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.