The family Thaumastochelidae contains five known species of deep-sea
lobster
Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...
s, three in the
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 ...
''Thaumastocheles'', and two in the genus ''Thaumastochelopsis''. The fifth species was discovered in the ten–year
Census of Marine Life.
These creatures are distinguished from other clawed lobsters by their
blindness
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
(an adaptation to deep-sea life), and by their single elongated, spiny
chela.
The family Thaumastochelidae is now more usually subsumed into the lobster family
Nephropidae.
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
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...
.
**''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
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...
.
**''Thaumastochelopsis wardi''
Bruce, 1988, the "Australian pincer lobster", lives in the Coral Sea.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3519647
True lobsters
Decapod families