intkey

[davinaster]

I finally conclusively identified my hermit crabs! They were sold to me - by my LFS, who else - as blue-legged. When I got them home and took a look, I saw that their legs weren't blue, which I thought was odd. Thus began my own private holy grail; scientific names for the species in my tank. As you all know, common names can be very misleading:

 

http://www.birdsandanimals.info/bcp/pictur...g95_22_23_3.htm

 

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/1173974.html

 

Anyhow, for whatever reason (dropped on my head as a child, potty-trained too early), I wanna know what I've got! After much searching, I came across a free tool called intkey, which is a key for searching taxonomic databases. I used the one for Calcinus (I had a pretty good idea of the genus already), and with it I was able to determine that my hermit crabs were not, in fact, blue-legged (Clibanarius tricolor) but Calcinus californiensis, most commonly known as the red-leg hermit crab - not even the same genus!

 

If you're a taxonomy geek like me, you can get the tool at http://www.delta-intkey.com.