First occurrence report of the hermit crab Dardanus setifer (H. Milne Edwards, 1836) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) from the Odisha coast, India

Abstract

The Hermit crabs belonging to the Diogenidae family are represented by 483 species under 22 genera and are mainly found in the Indo-Pacific region. Hermit crab species Dardanus setifer (H. Milne-Edwards, 1836) is documented for the first time from the Odisha coast based on specimens collected from Paradeep harbour and Bahuda estuary situated on the coast of Odisha state, India. The species has been documented across a range extending from South Africa to Australia. In India, it has been reported from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Andamans. The current record claims the range extension of this species to the coastal water of Odisha, reporting northward extension in the distributional range of the species in the Bay of Bengal.