Coenobita Lila: Morphological and Molecular Data for a New Hermit Crab Species

A new species of land hermit crab, Coenobita lila, is described from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, previously confused with C. cavipes. The description includes morphological distinctions and supporting molecular data, published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement No. 34. The study also confirms the presence of C. cavipes in Taiwan and discusses the status of C. baltzeri.

Use Cases

• Species classification based on morphological features like cheliped tubercles and sternal protuberances
• Molecular phylogenetics and species delimitation based on referenced genetic data
• Geographic distribution analysis of Coenobita species in Southeast Asia and Taiwan

Strengths

• Includes molecular data to support the taxonomic description
• Provides specific morphological characters for distinguishing between C. lila and C. cavipes
• Published in a peer-reviewed scientific supplement (Raffles Bulletin of Zoology)

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the described collection locations

Provenance

Source

Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement, No. 34

Collection Method

Scientific research involving morphological examination and molecular analysis

Geography

Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan