''Acanthacaris'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of deep-water

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

s. 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 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 ...

"). The

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

has a well-developed

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 ...

. The eyes are very small and lack

pigment A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...

, while the antennae are long and whiplike. The

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

and uropods 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 Arthro ...

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 has 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 ''Acanthacaris caeca'' is a species of deep-water lobster. It was originally described under the name ''Phoberus caecus'' by Alphonse Milne-Edwards. Lacking eyes, ''A. caeca'' is blind. Habitat ''Acanthacaris caeca'' are found in the Caribbean ...

'' is found in the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...

and the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

, in burrows at a depth of . *''

Acanthacaris tenuimana ''Acanthacaris tenuimana'' is a species of deep-water lobster. See also * '' Acanthacaris caeca'', the only other species in ''Acanthacaris'' References Crustaceans described in 1888 True lobsters {{decapod-stub ...

'', the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, 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 spe ...

, is found in the Indian and

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

s on muddy bottoms at a depth of . 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 ...

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 s ...

of '' Phoberus'' erected by William Sharp Macleay in 1819 (a

subgenus In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

of the beetle genus ''

Trox ''Trox'' is a genus of hide beetle in the subfamily Troginae. Taxonomy The genus formerly included 160 species, but the subgenera '' Phoberus'' and '' Glyptotrox'' have been elevated as their own separate genera, while various ''Trox'' species h ...

''). Although the replacement name (') "''Neophoberus''" was provided by Martin Glaessner in 1969, this is pre-dated by

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

'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