S.I. Smith, 1881

Diagnosis:
Rostrum with one pair of lateral teeth (one tooth on either margin). No post supraorbital spinule behind the supraorbital spine. The distance between the supraorbital spines and the gastric tubercle is about half or less than half the distance between the gastric tubercle and the cervical groove. Anterior margin of pleuron of second abdominal somite without a spine, but with a sharp, spine-like tip. Median dorsal carinae on second to sixth abdominal somites. Telson without an erect dorsal spine on its basal part.

Type:
Type locality:
"Fish Hawk" Station 873, off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA, 40°02'N 70°57'W, depth 182 m, bottom soft sticky mud. Lectotype (no. 20923) and 3 paralectotypes in USNM.

Geographical Distribution:
Western Atlantic from off Massachusetts and Bermuda to French Guiana and Suriname, including the entire Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea.

Habitat and Biology:
Deep sea between 137 and 824 m, mostly between 200 and 600 m. Bottom: mud or fine sand.

Size:
Maximum total length about 14 .5 cm Carapace length 1.5 to 7 cm.

Interest to Fisheries:
Potential. Exploratory fishing in the Gulf of Mexico (off the mouth of the Mississippi, and off East Florida) showed the presence of considerable quantities of the species; with a 65 foot trawl, catches of up to 40 kg/h were obtained.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Suborder Macrura Reptantia
Superfamily Nephropoidea
Family Nephropidae
Subfamily Thymopinae
Genus Nephropsis
Species Nephropsis aculeata

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Nephropsis aculeata Smith, 1881

Scientific synonyms and common names

Nephropsis aculeata S.I.Smith, 1881

Synonyms:
Nephropsis aculeatus S.I. Smith, 1881, Proceedings United States National Museum, 3: 431.

FAO Names:
Florida lobsterette [English]
Langoustine de Floride [French]
Cigala de Florida [Spanish]

Fischer, W. (ed.), 1978. FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31), vol. 6:pag.var.

Holthuis, L.B., 1974. The lobsters of the superfamily Nephropidea of the Atlantic Ocean (Crustacea: Decapoda). Biological results of the University of Miami deep-sea expeditions. 106. Bulletin marine Science University Miami, 24: 723-884, figs 1-35.

Smith, S.I., 1881. Preliminary notice of the Crustacea dredged, in 64-325 fathoms, off the south coast of new England, by the United States Fish Commision in 1880. Proceedings United States National Museum, 3: 413-452.

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