''Thymopides'' 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, comprising the two species ''Thymopides grobovi'' and ''Thymopides laurentae''.

Distribution

Two species are included in the genus ''Thymopides''. *''Thymopides grobovi'' is found around

Heard Island The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands (HIMI) is an Australian external territory comprising a volcanic group of mostly barren Antarctic islands, about two-thirds of the way from Madagascar to Antarctica. The group's overall land ...

and the Kerguelen Archipelago in the southern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

at depths of . *''Thymopides laurentae'' is only known from a single

hydrothermal vent Hydrothermal vents are fissures on the seabed from which geothermally heated water discharges. They are commonly found near volcanically active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart at mid-ocean ridges, ocean basins, and hot ...

on the

Mid-Atlantic Ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a Divergent boundary, divergent or constructive Plate tectonics, plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest mountai ...

at a depth of ().

Description

''Thymopides'' differs from related genera such as ''

Homarus ''Homarus'' is a genus of lobsters, which include the common and commercially significant species ''Homarus americanus'' (the American lobster) and '' Homarus gammarus'' (the European lobster). The Cape lobster, which was formerly in this genu ...

'', '' Homarinus'' and '' Nephrops'' in having the first pair of pereiopods of similar size and shape, rather than one "crusher" and one "cutter" claw. It differs from others, such as ''

Metanephrops ''Metanephrops'' is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include '' Metanephrops australiensis'' (Australian scampi) and '' Metanephrops challengeri'' (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters ...

'' and '' Eunephrops'' by the lack of a

carina Carina may refer to: Places Australia * Carina, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina Heights, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane * Carina, Victoria, a locality in Mildura Serbia * Carina, Osečina, a village in the Kolubara District ...

behind the antennal

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

, by the smaller size of some spines and by the smaller, unpigmented eyes.

Taxonomy

The genus was first described by R. N. Burukovsky and B. S. Averin in 1976 under the name ''Bellator'', the Latine word for "warrior", in a paper in the '' Russian Journal of Zoology'' (, '). After

Lipke Holthuis Lipke Bijdeley Holthuis (21 April 1921 – 7 March 2008) was a Dutch carcinologist, considered one of the "undisputed greats" of carcinology, and "the greatest carcinologist of our time". Holthuis was born in Probolinggo, East Java and obtained ...

informed the authors that a genus already existed called '' Bellator'', they published a replacement name in a paper in the journal ''

Crustaceana ''Crustaceana'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal specialising in carcinology. It was established in 1960 and is published monthly by Brill Publishers. The journal is abstracted and indexed by BIOSIS Previews, the Science Citation Index, The ...

''. That new name was ''Thymopides'', referring to the close resemblance between the new genus and the genus ''

Thymops ''Thymops birsteini'', the Patagonian lobsterette, is a species of lobster found around the coasts of South America, particularly the South Atlantic. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Thymops''. Distribution ''T. birsteini'' is found on the co ...

''. In 2003, a second species was described, ''T. laurentae'', commemorating Michèle de Saint Laurent.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q17986909 True lobsters Taxa named by Enrique Macpherson