If you are one of those people who “cannot live” without a certain accessory, know that in the animal kingdom there is a hermit crab, the Pagurodofleinia doederleiniwhich literally owes its survival to Stylobates calciferan anemone new to science, which he wears as a hat, according to a very recent study that has shed light on this strange and curious situation.
The new species of anemone, found on the seabed off the coast of Japan, was named Stylobates calcifer as it was inspired by the character of Studio Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle, Calcifer, everyone’s favorite fire demon.
“The ability to make shells of the new species in the species-specific relationship seems that Calcifer had a magical contract with the Wizard Howl, building his wandering castle”
explained the authors ofpublished article on The Biological Bulletin.
The anemone was already known in Japan and had a Japanese name, theHimekinkara sea anemonebut it had not yet been academically recognized, while it is now officially on the science hermit crab list and has a nice middle name to boot.
What was discovered about the “new” anemone Stylobates calcifer
新 種 の イ ソ ギ ン チ ャ ク を 記載 し ま し た。
プ レ ス リ リ ー スhttps://t.co/mTpTByv0yq
本 種 に は ヒ メ キ ン カ ラ イ ソ ギ ン チ ャ ク と い う 和 名 が あ り ま し た が 、 学名 は 与 え ら れ て お ら ず 、 学術 的 に は 無名 の た 種 種
本 研究 で は 、 こ れ が 学術 的 に も 認 め ら れ る べ き 種 で あ る こ と を 証明 し 、 正式 な 学名 を 与 え ま し た pic.twitter.com/X8743JY192– Hermit A. | Akihiro Yoshikawa (@otsuchihermit) April 26, 2022
Crustaceans with hats have been a recurring theme in recent animal news, as scientists recently named one new species of crab absurdly soft that cuts the sea sponges and then makes “caps” which he then wears.
In this regard, scientists think that living hats protect this type of crustacean from predators, and it is believed that the same protective effect is also valid for the “more radical” hats used by Japanese hermit crabs.
Also according to recent studies, it is believed that the relationship between hermit crabs and their hats made with the aid of Stylobates calcifer falls into the category of “obligatory symbiosis”, in fact researchers believe the two species need the other to survive. The urgency was certainly reflected in the recorded behavior of a hermit crab that was filmed painstakingly pinching and massaging his beloved Stylobates calcifer until it detached so they could move it onto their new shell.
Even a simple move like this, however, may not be without costs for hermit crabs, in fact the Stylobates calcifer have not always been cooperative; In one observation, the crab tried to encourage the anemone to move to a new shell for 12 hours without success, and eventually had to revert to the old one.
He later tried again and was successful, but the overall process accounted for 43 hours of work by the hermit crab. A lot of work, then, but maybe it’s worth it considering that in addition to looking fresh and young until death, his efforts have ensured that he is protected from parasites and predators.
The living anemone hat benefits from its elevated position in two ways, firstly having a decent spot from which to catch delicious falling ocean debris, and secondly, riding on the roof of what is essentially the hermit crab camper means that has access to fresh feeding areas all year round.
Curiously, some hermit crabs of the species have been seen without anemones, which the researchers suggest may have been the result of the crustacean crime. The hermit crab’s dependence on their hats as a means of survival may be enough to motivate the theft, however more research is needed to confirm this.
Although the research is limited in sample size, it shows that living hats are an apparent trend among crustaceans.
“Due to our limited observations due to difficulties in collecting the samples, we conducted all behavioral observations on a single samplehowever, our behavioral observations suggest the remarkable symbiotic relationships in the actinia mutualisms of CF in the deep sea. “
the authors explained.
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