The bathyal swimming crab, ''Bathynectes longispina'', is a species of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

in the family

Polybiidae __NOTOC__ Portunoidea is a superfamily of crabs that includes the family Portunidae, the swimming crabs. Which other crab families are also placed here is a matter of some contention, and may be revised following molecular phylogenetic analyses. ...

. This species lives on

seamount A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...

s and knolls, at depths as great as . It appears similar to other members of the portunid family, but has reduced swimming dactyls and long walking legs. As an adaptation to deep water, it has large eyes.

References

Portunoidea Crabs of the Atlantic Ocean Crustaceans described in 1879 {{crab-stub