Disappearance of the warm-water hermit crab Clibanarius erythropus from south-west Britain

Abstract

The hermit crab Clibanarius erythropus first reported from Britain in 1961 is no longer present. There appears to have been no further recruitment since the late 1950s when there was a favourable combination of climate and hydrographical factors that led to successful invasion of Devon and Cornwall.The population appears to have succumbed to the combined effect of age and declining temperatures. Additional contributory factors in the decline could be the mortalities resulting from the ‘Torrey Canyon’ disaster; the reduction in numbers of the dog-whelk (whose empty shells are the favoured home of the crab in Britain) as a result of organotin antifouling paints; and increased public pressure on the habitat.