Echinoecus pentagonus explained

Echinoecus pentagonus, the sea urchin crab, is a species of crab in the family Pilumnidae found from the Red Sea and East Africa to French Polynesia and the Hawaiian Islands.^[1] This crab is a parasite that lives in the rectum of a sea urchin. In Hawaii, it chooses only Echinothrix calamaris, leaving few of these urchins unpopulated. Its curved and pointed carapace reaches only 0.5inches in width.^[2]

Taxonomic synonyms of E. pentagonus include:^[3]

• Echinoecus klunzingeri Miyake, 1939
• Echinoecus pentagonus Rathbun, 1894
• Echinoecus rathbunae Miyake, 1939
• Eumedon convictor Bouvier & Seurat, 1906
• Eumedon pentagonus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879
• Eumedonus petiti Gravier, 1922
• Liomedon pentagonus Klunzinger, 1906

Notes and References

1. Web site: Echinoecus pentagonus (Milne-Edwards, 1879) . . December 22, 2010.
2. Book: Hawaiian Sea Creatures . John P. Hoover . . 2007 . 1-56647-220-2.
3. Web site: P. Davie . 2010 . Echinoecus pentagonus . . December 22, 2010.