Calcinus elegans

Identification: legs with alternating bright blue and black bands, olive-green claws speckled with white, blue eyes and orange antennae. It is the only Calcinus covered in small setae. Hawaiian individuals have orange rather than blue leg bands. Quality Marine lists up to 5 cm.

In the wild it ranges from East Africa to the central Pacific (Japan and Hawaii included), in intertidal and subtidal zones down to 10 to 20 m, on rocky bottoms, boulders, coral rubble and sometimes in mangroves. Nocturnal and wary, it withdraws into its shell at the slightest danger, which it detects mostly by smell. It prefers dog whelk shells, which protect better against predators and surge than cowrie or worm-snail shells.

Reproduction: before mating the male rotates the female's shell; unlike many hermit crabs, partners do not exchange shells. No source consulted describes captive breeding.

Status: the species has not been evaluated by the IUCN and is not listed by CITES.