Thaumastochelidae Explained

The family Thaumastochelidae contains five known species of deep-sea lobsters, three in the genus Thaumastocheles, and two in the genus Thaumastochelopsis. The fifth species was discovered in the ten–year Census of Marine Life.^{[1] [2]} These creatures are distinguished from other clawed lobsters by their blindness (an adaptation to deep-sea life), and by their single elongated, spiny chela.^[3]

The family Thaumastochelidae is now more usually subsumed into the lobster family Nephropidae.^[4]

The five species are as follows:

• Thaumastocheles
  • 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
  • Thaumastochelopsis brucei Ahyong, Chu & Chan, 2007 lives in the Coral Sea.
  • Thaumastochelopsis wardi Bruce, 1988, the "Australian pincer lobster", lives in the Coral Sea.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Image Gallery . . 2009-11-27.
2. News: . Deep sea oddities and more from the Census of Marine Life . 2009-11-23.
3. A. J. Bruce . 1988 . Thaumastochelopsis wardi, gen. et. sp. nov., a new blind deep-sea lobster from the coral sea (Crustacea : Decapoda : Nephropidea) . . 2 . 7 . 903–914 . 10.1071/it9880903.
4. Web site: Nephropidae Dana, 1852 . 24 July 2017 . . Tin-Yam Chan . 2009.