Pale anemone hermit

Dardanus deformis

Crustaceans
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth0–885 m
Water temperature20–30 °C
Best monthsMarch, July, and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Franz Anthony, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Dardanus deformis is a species of nocturnal hermit crab that is found in the Indo-Pacific. Its common name is pale anemone hermit. The species is known to transfer sea anemones from one shell to another when it moves to a different shell. It can be kept in an aquarium.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Dardanus deformis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 42 records
February: 42 records
March: 59 records
April: 51 records
May: 53 records
June: 56 records
July: 60 records
August: 33 records
September: 41 records
October: 41 records
November: 58 records
December: 35 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–885 m · Deepest record: 885 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–30 °C

20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 10 records
24–26 °C: 8 records
26–28 °C: 10 records
28–30 °C: 19 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Nick Tobler (Cowturtle), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Nicola Crockford, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Pale anemone hermit, Pale anemone hermit crab, Rock hermit crab, pale anemone hermit, pale anemone hermit crab, rock hermit crab

Names in 4 more languages

German: Blasser Anemonen-Einsiedlerkrebs, Felsen-Dardanus
French: Pagure aux anémones clair, Pagure pâle
Japanese: カブトヤドカリ
Simplified Chinese: 畸形真寄居蟹

Other scientific names: Pagurus bifermis, Pagurus biformis, Pagurus carinatus, Pagurus cavipes, Pagurus cultratus, Pagurus cultrerus, Pagurus deformis

Similar species

Striated hermit crab
Dardanus arrosor
Mauve Eyed Hermit Crab
Dardanus crassimanus
Black-eyed hermit crab
Dardanus lagopodes
Spotted hermit crab
Dardanus megistos
Anemone hermit crab
Dardanus pedunculatus
Jeweled anemone hermit
Dardanus gemmatus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
225 open-data records from 1835 to 2023.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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