''Palibythus magnificus'', sometimes called the musical furry lobster, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of furry lobster found in

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. It is generally included in the family Palinuridae, although it has also been separated from that family with the genus '' Palinurellus'' to form the family Synaxidae in the past. Online version
''Palibythus magnificus''
The species is known in Samoan as ', a name which also covers the deep-water

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

'' Heterocarpus laevigatus''.

Distribution

''Palibythus'' is only known to occur around

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and the

Tuamotu Archipelago The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...

. It lives at greater depth than '' Palinurellus'' – from – and is slightly larger, at up to in length. All the specimens held in

natural history museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

s stem from the waters of Samoa, with only photos so far known of an animal from the Tuamotu Archipelago that is "almost definitely this species".

Sound

Like other spiny lobsters (with the exception of the genera '' Jasus'' and '' Projasus''), ''Palibythus'' is capable of making a loud screeching noise to distract or discourage potential

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s. This is achieved by rubbing plectra at the base of the antennae against elongated "files" on the sides of the antennular plate.

Relatives

''Palibythus'' was originally placed with '' Palinurellus'' in the family Synaxidae, on the basis that both genera possess a triangular

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit ** podium * 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 ...

which is absent in the other genera of spiny lobsters, and that both genera lack the supra-orbital horns found in the other spiny lobster genera. Despite this, however, the two genera of furry lobsters are not

sister taxa In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

. The genera most closely related to ''Palibythus'' are '' Panulirus'' and ''

Palinurus Palinurus (''Palinūrus''), in Roman mythology and especially Virgil's ''Aeneid'', is the coxswain of Aeneas' ship. Later authors used him as a general type of navigator or guide. Palinurus is an example of human sacrifice; his life is the price ...

'', while ''Palinurellus'' is closest to '' Jasus'' and '' Projasus'', two other genera which lack the stridulating organ.

Fishery

Although ''Palibythus'' is a large enough lobster to provide food for human consumption, its rarity, and the depths at which it lives, seem to preclude any commercial

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q16897298 Achelata Monotypic decapod genera