Bruce, 1988

Diagnosis:
Eyes present, slender and slightly movable, without pigment. Exopods of second and third maxillipeds reduced to short scale-like rudiments. Distal part of uropodal exopod, behind diaeresis a narrow rounded lobe.

Type:
Type locality: "Marian Plateau, off Townsville," Queensland, Australia, " 59°05.00'S [error for 19°05.00'S], 149°26.75'E, 425 m". Holotype female, and allotype male, Northern Territory Museum, Darwin, Australia, no. Cr. 004231.

Geographical Distribution:
NE Australia. Only known from the type locality.

Habitat and Biology:
Taken at a depth of 425 m.

Size:
Total length approximately 7.7 cm (female), 5.7 cm (male); carapace length 2.5 cm (female), 1.9 cm (male).

Interest to Fisheries:
Inasmuch as only two specimens are known of this species nothing can be stated on this aspect, but it is not likely that the species ever will become of commercial interest.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Crustacea
Order Decapoda
Suborder Macrura Reptantia
Superfamily Nephropoidea
Family Thaumastochelidae
Genus Thaumastochelopsis
Species Thaumastochelopsis wardi

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Thaumastochelopsis wardi Bruce, 1988

Scientific synonyms and common names

Thaumastochelopsis wardi Bruce, 1988

Synonyms:
Thaumastochelopsis wardi Bruce, 1988, Invertebrate Taxonomy, 2: 909, figs 1-7

FAO Names:
Australian pincer lobster [English]

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: 903-914, figs 1-7

No distribution map was available at OBIS the last time we checked. Retry now.

You can continue searching for Thaumastochelopsis wardi on one of these Web sites:

Fauna Europaea (animals) | IOPI (plants) | NCBI (genetic)

Google | Yahoo | MSN | Wikipedia