The junior homonym Coenobita Gistl, 1848 is now the moth genus Ectropis.
The genus Coenobita contains 21 species of terrestrial hermit crabs. Several species in this genus are kept as pets.
Ecology Coenobita species carry water in the gastropod shells they inhabit, allowing them to stay out of water for a long time.
Distribution The majority of the species are found in the Indo-Pacific region, with only one species in West Africa, one species occurring along the Atlantic coast of the Americas, and one species occurring on the Pacific coast of the Americas.
Image Species Authority Year Distribution Coenobita brevimanus Dana 1852 Indo-Pacific Coenobita carnescens Dana 1851 Pacific Ocean Coenobita cavipes Stimpson 1858 Indo-Pacific Coenobita clypeatus 1787 Western AtlanticCoenobita compressus 1836 Eastern Pacific Coenobita lila Rahayu 2016 Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia Coenobita longitarsis De Man 1902 East Indies Coenobita olivieri Owen 1839 Pacific Ocean Coenobita perlatus 1837 Indo-Pacific Coenobita pseudorugosus Nakasone 1988 Indo-Pacific Coenobita purpureus Stimpson 1858 Japan Coenobita rubescens Greeff 1884 West AfricaCoenobita rugosus 1837 Indo-Pacific Coenobita scaevola 1775 Indian Ocean, Red Sea Coenobita spinosus 1837 Polynesia & Australia Coenobita variabilis McCulloch 1909 Australia Coenobita violascens Heller 1862 Pacific Ocean
Taxonomy Coenobita is closely related to the coconut crab, Birgus latro, with the two genera making up the family Coenobitidae. The name Coenobita was coined by Pierre André Latreille in 1829, from an Ecclesiastical Latin word, ultimately from the Greek , meaning "commune"; the genus is masculine in gender.
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