''Pleuroncodes monodon'', sometimes called the red squat lobster, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

squat lobster Squat lobsters are dorsoventrally flattened crustaceans with long tails held curled beneath the cephalothorax. They are found in the two superfamilies Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea, which form part of the decapod infraorder Anomura, alongsi ...

from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean, where it is the subject of 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 ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

alongside the species ''

Cervimunida johni ''Cervimunida johni'' is a species of squat lobster in the family Munididae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean, off of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmos ...

''.

Fishery

The fishery of ''P. monodon'' in Chile is divided into two areas, of which the southern unit is the more important. The

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

al fishery of ''P. monodon'' was banned in the southern unit for three years, from 1980 to 1982, in an attempt to restore the collapsing population. Afterwards,

quotas Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

were put in place to limit the fishery, although another three-year ban, was required from 1989 to 1991. Fishing for ''P. monodon'' has again resumed, but at far lower levels than before the initial regulation.

Distribution

''Pleuroncodes monodon'' is found from 41° S in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

to 15° N in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

Life cycle

''Pleuroncodes monodon'' produces small

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

, in clutches of up to nearly 34,000; the

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. T ...

that hatch from them pass through five

planktotrophic Marine larval ecology is the study of the factors influencing dispersing larvae, which many marine invertebrates and fishes have. Marine animals with a larva typically release many larvae into the water column, where the larvae develop before meta ...

zoea Crustaceans may pass through a number of larval and immature stages between hatching from their eggs and reaching their adult form. Each of the stages is separated by a moult, in which the hard exoskeleton is shed to allow the animal to grow. The ...

l stages, over the course of around 55 days.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14124308 Squat lobsters Crustaceans of the eastern Pacific Ocean Crustaceans described in 1837 Taxa named by Henri Milne-Edwards