Stareye Hermit Crab
Dardanus venosus

f22 @ 1/60s, Ektachrome 64 slide film, ASA 64, Nikonon II w 28mm and 1:3 extension tube, Oceanic flash, aluminum flash reflector

\"Dardanus venosus,\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Dardanus venosus, the starry-eyed crab or stareye crab, is a species of hermit crab in the family Diogenidae. It occurs in shallow water on the eastern coasts of America from Florida southward to Brazil. It is sometimes kept in reef aquaria.Dardanus venosus grows to a length of from 7 to 12 centimetres (2.8 to 4.7 in). As a hermit crab, it lives inside the empty shell of a gastropod mollusc and its soft abdomen and most of its limbs are normally hidden with just the dacryls, or claws, projecting. Like other members of its family, it is left-handed, having its main chela or pincers on the left front limb. It uses this to cover the aperture of the shell when it feels threatened. The dactyls are a mauve colour due to the clusters of small bluish bristles that cover them. The crab\'s common name refers to the fact that when seen at close quarters, its eyes resemble star-bursts, being green or blue with dark pupils.

Salt River Canyon, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

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