Distribution: All SA coastal and gulf waters east of Ceduna
Habitat: Rocky reef
Depth: Subtidal to 10+ metres
Paguristes brevirostris without a shell. Photograph by David Muirhead
One of the larger hermit crab species, this crab is often found in Lunella shells. It is a pale greenish colour, except for the eye stalks and mouth parts, which are a dark orange-red, and black eyes. It has moderately hairy arms, with white scales, and is a left-handed crab, meaning that the left claw is larger than the right. It can be confused with other species of Paguristes, including the orange-red P. frontalis, and P. sulcatus, which has much hairier arms and a row of 5 dark red scales on the claws.
