''Acanthacaris'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of deep-water lobsters. It contains two species, ''A. caeca'' and ''A. tenuimana'', and is the only genus in the subfamily Neophoberinae.

Description

They are relatively large lobsters with a cylindrical body covered with sharp spines (hence the genus name, meaning "spiny shrimp"). The carapace has a well-developed

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

. The eyes are very small and lack

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

, while the antennae are long and whiplike. The

telson The telson () is the posterior-most division of the body of an arthropod. Depending on the definition, the telson is either considered to be the final segment of the arthropod body, or an additional division that is not a true segment on accou ...

and

uropods Uropods are posterior appendages found on a wide variety of crustaceans. They typically have functions in locomotion. Definition Uropods are often defined as the appendages of the last body segment of a crustacean. An alternative definition sugg ...

are powerful. The first three pairs of walking legs end in

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

s. The first pair of claws is symmetrical, and ends in long fingers covered with sharp spines on cutting edges, but without hairs. The second pair of walking legs is much longer than the third pair. Both species reach a length of . Acanthacaris have a laterally compressed rostrum, a unique arrangement of postcervical and cellar grooves, a large and elongate scaphocerite, and delicate, elongate claws with cylindrical palms. The acanthacaris have no gatrolateral or postcervical spine.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Acanthacaris'' is the only genus in the subfamily Neophoberinae, and contains two species: *'' Acanthacaris caeca'' is found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

, in burrows at a depth of 290–870 m. *'' Acanthacaris tenuimana'', the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

, is found in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

s, on muddy bottoms at a depth of 600–1670 m. The genus was originally described as "''Phoberus''" by

Alphonse Milne-Edwards Alphonse Milne-Edwards (Paris, 13 October 1835 – Paris, 21 April 1900) was a French mammalogist, ornithologist, and carcinologist. He was English in origin, the son of Henri Milne-Edwards and grandson of Bryan Edwards, a Jamaican planter who se ...

in 1881, with "''Phoberus caecus''" (''A. caeca'') as the

; this transpired to be a

junior homonym In biology, a homonym is a name for a taxon that is identical in spelling to another such name, that belongs to a different taxon. The rule in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature is that the first such name to be published is the se ...

of '' Phoberus'' erected by

William Sharp Macleay William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant and entomologist. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification. After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in Par ...

in 1819 (a subgenus of the beetle genus '' Trox''). Although the replacement name (') "''Neophoberus''" was provided by Martin Glaessner in 1969, this is pre-dated by

Charles Spence Bate Charles Spence Bate, FRS (March 16, 1819 – July 29, 1889) was a British zoologist and dentist. Life He was born at Trenick House near Truro, the son of Charles Bate (1789–1872) and Harriet Spence (1788–1879). Charles adopted "Spence Bate" ...

's 1888 name ''Acanthacaris'', which has ''A. tenuimana'' as the type species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q337672 True lobsters Taxa named by Charles Spence Bate Arthropods of the Dominican Republic