Littoral hermit crabs (Decapoda: Anomura: Paguroidea) from the Gulf of Oman, Iran

The hermit crabs fauna of the Gulf of Oman are not well known. Material of the present study was collected from 14 intertidal localities along the Iranian coast of the Gulf of Oman. The eight hermit crab species belong to three families Coenobitidae (Coenobita scaevola), Diogenidae (Diogenes avarus, D. planimanus, D. custos, Clibanarius signatus, C. virescens and C. longitarsus) and Paguridae (Pagurus kulkarnii). Amongst hermit crabs of the present study, Diogenes custos and Pagurus kulkarnii are new records for the area. Notes on habitat preferences, most common host shells and geographical distributions for all species are provided.