Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Phimochirus californiensis
cangrejo ermitaño, Hermit crab
Caparace width to 11 mm.
Intertidal and Subtidal to 128 m.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Malacostraca
Order
Decapoda
Suborder
Pleyocemata
Superfamily
Paguroidea
Family
Paguridae
Genus
Phimochirus
Species
californiensis
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Eupagurus (Elassochirus) californiensis Benedict, 1892, Eupagurus (Elassochirus) mexicanus Benedict, 1892, Pagurus californiensis (Benedict, 1892), Pylopagurus californiensis (Benedict, 1892) (Horton et al., 2021).
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Gulf of California to Panama and Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
- Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
- Bustamante, R.H. Vinueza, L.R., Smith, F., Banks, S., Calvopiña, M., Francisco, V., Chiriboga, A., Harris, J. (2002) Comunidades submareales rocosas I: Organismos sésiles y mesoinvertebrados móviles. In: Danulat, E. & Edgar, G.J. (eds.) (2002): Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Línea Base de la Biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, p. 38-67.
- Hickman, C.P. Jr. Zimmerman, T.L. (2000) A Field Guide to Crustaceans of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 156 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Phimochirus californiensis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8442. Accessed 3 April 2026.