(full paper is archived in the Miller Library)
Title: Observations on the distribution and dispersal of the gastropod Crepidula perforans (Valenciennes, 1846)
Student Author(s): Alpert, Amy V.
Pages: 18
Location: Final Papers Biology 175H
Date: June 1965
Keywords: hermit crab
Pagurus
Abstract: Crepidula perforans (Valenciennes, 1846), a gastropod living inside hermit crab shells, is unevenly distributed in the area of China Point at Hopkins Marine Station. The mollusc is not found in shells less than 0.25 inches in diameter. It is most often, though not always, found in Tegula funebralis shells. The distribution of the mollusc in different species of Pagurus is varied. The animal is situated in the outermost whorl of the shell with its head facing the opening. The larger the crab, the more C. perforans it is likely to have. The larger the Crepidula inhabiting the shell, the fewer found in the shell. The young molluscs are able to cling to the shell upon hatching. C. perforans is attracted to Pagurus but not to members of its own species or T. funebralis shells. The mollusc is able to move from one hermit crab to another.