Reef lobsters, ''Enoplometopus'', are a

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 ...

of small lobsters that live on reefs in the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and warmer parts of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Description

Species of ''Enoplometopus'' occur from

coral reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. C ...

s at depths of less than to rocky reefs at depths of . They are brightly coloured, with stripes, rings, or spots. They are typically mainly red, orange, purplish and white. Reef lobsters are small (depending on species, up to ), nocturnal (spending the day in caves or crevices), and very timid. The species can be distinguished by their colouration and

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

Eryma mandelslohi (Krebs) - Oberer Brauner Jura - Bissingen unter Teck

As a result of their bright colours, they are popular in the aquarium trade, and unregulated collection combined with destruction of coral reefs may threaten some species. Due to uncertainty over the impact of these potential threats, the majority are considered data deficient by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

. Reef lobsters are distinguished from clawed lobsters (family

Nephropidae 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, ...

) by having full

chelae A chela ()also called a claw, nipper, or pinceris a pincer (biology), pincer-like organ at the end of certain limbs of some arthropods. The name comes from Ancient Greek , through New Latin '. The plural form is chelae. Legs bearing a chela are ...

(''claws'') only on the first pair of pereiopods, the second and third pairs being only subchelate (where the last segment of the appendage can press against a short projection from the penultimate one). Clawed lobsters have full claws on the first three pereiopods. Males, unlike those of nephropoid lobsters, have an extra lobe on the second pleopod, which is assumed to have some function in reproduction. Reef lobsters have a shallow cervical groove while clawed lobsters have a deep cervical groove. Although there is no

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

of reef lobsters, there is some evidence that they may be related to the extinct genus ''

Eryma ''Eryma'' is a genus of fossil lobster-like crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapoda, decapods, ostracoda, seed shrimp, branchiopoda, branchiopods, argulidae, fish lice, ...

'' which lived from the Permo-

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

to the late

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

Species

The genus contains the following species: *''

Enoplometopus antillensis ''Enoplometopus antillensis'' (commonly dwarf reef lobster, Atlantic reef lobster or flaming reef lobster) is a species of reef lobster endemic to warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is found at depths of in rocky and coral reefs, where it hi ...

'' Lütken, 1865 *'' Enoplometopus callistus'' Intès and Le Loeuff, 1970 *'' Enoplometopus chacei'' Kensley and Child, 1986 *'' Enoplometopus crosnieri'' Chan and Yu, 1998 *'' Enoplometopus daumi'' Holthuis, 1983 *'' Enoplometopus debelius'' Holthuis, 1983 *'' Enoplometopus gracilipes'' ( De Saint Laurent, 1988) *'' Enoplometopus holthuisi''

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, 1968 *''

Enoplometopus occidentalis ''Enoplometopus occidentalis'', the red reef lobster, Hawaiian reef lobster, or hairy reef lobster, is a reef lobster Reef lobsters, ''Enoplometopus'', are a genus of small lobsters that live on reefs in the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and warmer ...

'' ( Randall, 1840) *''

Enoplometopus pictus Reef lobsters, ''Enoplometopus'', are a genus of small lobsters that live on reefs in the Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean. Description Species of ''Enoplometopus'' occur from coral reefs at depths of less than to ...

'' A. Milne Edwards, 1862 *'' Enoplometopus voigtmanni'' Türkay, 1989

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q634316 Decapods