Thaumastochelidae
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Thaumastocheles Wood-Mason, 1874 |
The family Thaumastochelidae contains four known species of deep-sea lobsters, three in the genus Thaumastocheles, and one in the genus Thaumastochelopsis. They are distinguished from other clawed lobsters by their blindness (an adaptation to deep-sea life), and by their single elongated, spiny chela. The species are as follows:
- Thaumastocheles dochmiodon Chan & de Saint Laurent, 1999 is found in the Timor Sea.
- Thaumastocheles japonicus Calman, 1913, the "Pacific pincer lobster", is endemic to the Sea of Japan.
- Thaumastocheles zaleucus Thomson, 1873, the "Atlantic pincer lobster" or "Atlantic deep-sea lobster", is endemic to the Caribbean region.
- Thaumastochelopsis wardi Bruce, 1988, the "Australian pincer lobster", was found in the Coral Sea.
[edit] References
Bruce, A. J. (1988): Thaumastochelopsis wardi, gen. et. sp. nov., a new blind deep-sea lobster from the coral sea (Crustacea : Decapoda : Nephropidea). Invertebrate Taxonomy 2(7): 903 - 914.
