What Animal Lives Where

Where has the coconut crab been recorded?

Birgus latro occurrence evidence comes from 61 records in 20 countries and territories, from 1899 to 2026. Most records come from British Indian Ocean Territory.

coconut crab
coconut crab — Photo (display-sized rendition): Drew Avery · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
MalacostracaDecapodaCoenobitidaeBirgus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

61 records across 20 countries and territories, 1899–2026.

Birgus latro · GBIF taxon key 4311512

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-23. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: May.

8 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: May. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18992026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where coconut crab has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for coconut crab. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
British Indian Ocean Territory 14
Christmas Island 11
Indonesia 5
French Polynesia 5
Seychelles 4
Marshall Islands 3
Tonga 3
Cook Islands 2
Niue 2
Tanzania 2
American Samoa 1
Cocos Islands 1
Micronesia 1
Guam 1
Japan 1
Kiribati 1
Palau 1
Solomon Islands 1
Tuvalu 1
Vanuatu 1

Related animals

Others in the family Coenobitidae.

Caribbean Hermit Crab
Caribbean Hermit Crab
490 records
ruggie hermit crab
ruggie hermit crab
234 records
Red Hermit Crab
Red Hermit Crab
50 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.