Ninety-two new species of ʻGalatheaʼ genus lobsters from the Indian and Pacific Oceans identified
The scientific journal Zootaxa has published a major work that describes ninety-two new species of lobsters of the genus Galathea. The scientific article is signed by Aymée Robainas-Barcia, who collaborates in the Department of Genetics of the University of Barcelona, and Enrique Macpherson, researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC). The scientific team has studied around 9,000 specimens of 144 species, 92 of which are totally new. Until now, only 81 species of the genus Galathea were known.
The scientific journal Zootaxa has published a major work that describes ninety-two new species of lobsters of the genus Galathea. The scientific article is signed by Aymée Robainas-Barcia, who collaborates in the Department of Genetics of the University of Barcelona, and Enrique Macpherson, researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC). The scientific team has studied around 9,000 specimens of 144 species, 92 of which are totally new. Until now, only 81 species of the genus Galathea were known.
Crab specimens were collected in Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Madagascar to the Red Sea and the French Polynesia, on expeditions developed for the last twenty years. Specimens are preserved at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris and at the University of Florida. These specimens are associated with coral reefs, which are are facing serious threats in different places around the world.
Enrique Macpherson, expert on decapod crustaceans and director of the study, explains that the lobsters analyzed have rich coloration, which allow the animals to hide in the colourful coral reefs where they usually live. Among new species described, we highlight two for their beautiful and unusual coloration: the Galathea polyphemus, named after the Greek myth of Polyphemus and Galatea, and the Galathea boucheti, from Madagascar, which present blue spirals on its yellow shell.