Reef lobster

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Reef lobster
Enoplometopus antillensis

Enoplometopus antillensis

Systematics
Order : Decapods (decapoda)
Subordination : Pleocyemata
Partial order : Large crayfish (Astacidea)
Superfamily : Enoplometopoidea
Family : Enoplometopidae
Genre : Reef lobster
Scientific name of the  superfamily
Enoplometopoidea
De Saint Laurent , 1988
Scientific name of the  family
Enoplometopidae
De Saint Laurent, 1988
Scientific name of the  genus
Enoplometopus
Milne-Edwards , 1862

The reef lobsters ( Enoplometopus ) are the only genus from the family of the Enoplometopidae within the decapods (Decapoda).

Appearance

The crabs have the typical lobster shape, with hairy claws that make up a third of the body's length. They usually stay smaller than 15 centimeters. Reef lobsters are very colorful, often with a reddish base color and yellow or purple spots or stripes.

distribution

Reef lobsters live in the reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific and tropical Atlantic , including the Caribbean . Occasionally they are imported for aquarium use. However, they live very hidden in the reef aquarium and must be kept individually because of incompatibility.

Reproduction

In the reef lobsters mating takes place shortly after the molt of the female. For this purpose, the males of the reef lobster have transformed the first pair of hind legs into a tube-like mating organ consisting of two parts. In this way, the male transfers the sperm into a seed pocket between the last three pairs of legs of the female. After copulation, the eggs slide out of the genital opening past the seed pouch and are fertilized there. Then they are pinned to the underside of the abdomen. After six days, at night, the larvae hatch.

species

Species of Enoplometopus usually have a characteristic coloring, which simplifies their differentiation. Other distinguishing features are the number and shape of tips on the carapace, the morphology of the scissors and the pleura of the sixth abdominal segment. The genus includes the following 12 species:

swell

  • SA Fosså, & AJ Nilsen: Coral reef aquarium. Volume 6, Birgit Schmettkamp Verlag, Bornheim 1998, ISBN 3-928819-18-6
  • Tin-Yam Chan, Peter KL Ng: Enoplometopus A. Milne-Edwards, 1862 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Nephropoidea) from the Philippines, with Description of One New Species and a Revised Key to the Genus . In: Bulletin of Marine Science . tape 83 , no. 2 , 2008, p. 347–365 ( full text [accessed January 30, 2013]).
  • J. Poupin: Reef lobsters Enoplometopus A. Milne Edwards, 1862 from French Polynesia, with a brief revision of the genus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Enoplometopidae) . In: Zoosystema . tape 25 , no. 4 , 2003, p. 643–664 ( PDF, 4.4MB [accessed January 29, 2013]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ T. Chan, M. Türkay: Enoplometopus A. Milne-Edwards, 1862. In: World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved January 29, 2013 .

Web links

Commons : Enoplometopus  - collection of images, videos and audio files