Galatheacaris abyssalis is a rare species of shrimp, now thought to be a larval stage of another genus, Eugonatonotus.
It was described in 1997 on the basis of a single specimen caught in the Celebes Sea at a depth of . It was seen to be so different from previously known shrimp species that a new family, Galatheacarididae, and superfamily, Galatheacaridoidea, were erected for it.[1] Later, more specimens were found in the stomach of a lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox.[2]
The species shares some plesiomorphies with Procaris, and the two taxa were thought to be closely related.[3] Molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that Galatheacaris abyssalis had such similar mitochondrial DNA to that of Eugonatonotus chacei that the two must be considered conspecific; it is now thought that Galatheacaris is the megalopa stage of Eugonatonotus.[4]