Coenobita cavipes

Species of crustacean

Coenobita cavipes (Passionfruit Hermit) is a species of land hermit crab native to the eastern parts of Africa, the Indonesia, Philippines, China, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, Polynesia, and Micronesia. While these hermit crabs are terrestrial, they prefer to reside near the shores for access of both water and land.

This land hermit crab lives in mangrove trees, are mainly nocturnal, and terrestrial species, however often prefer salt water inside of its shell. These hermit crabs often reside in holes in large groups and have been known to cannibalize. Possible reasons for this may be due to the fact that they display negative preferences feeding on natural foods, instead preferring foods that they have not recently eaten. Another possible reason for cannibalization is the competition of resources. A study was conducted that showed these hermit crabs were most active during October. Although their early stages of life are spent near the shore, the study concluded that C. cavipes do not prefer to be close to the shore in later stages of life although they frequently visit the water to replenish the water in their shells.

C. cavipes feed in various ways such as deposit feeding, suspension feeding, predation, and by scavenging. Depending on location, they often feed at low tide on fruits, human feces, bird feces, dead fish, and rotted vegetation.

Females release their larvae into the sea. Typical breeding season is between mid May to late August and many females produced two broods or more. Eggs on C. cavipes are also incubated for around 30 days or more, unlike other their relatives. Breeding only occurs once to twice per year.