Neolithodes yaldwyni
| Neolithodes yaldwyni | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Lithodidae |
| Genus: | Neolithodes |
| Species: | N. yaldwyni
|
| Binomial name | |
| Neolithodes yaldwyni | |
Neolithodes yaldwyni is a species of king crab which is found in the Ross Sea from depths of 124–1,950 metres (407–6,398 ft).[2] It had previously been misidentified as Neolithodes brodiei,[1][3] and it closely resembles Neolithodes capensis.[2]
Appearance
[edit]N. yaldwyni is deep-red in colour and has a has a pyriform carapace having been measured as large as 170.4 mm (6.71 in) in length and 135.6 mm (5.34 in) in width.[2] The dorsal surface has thick, conical spines sparsely interspersed with granules, and the ventral surface is smooth.[2] Its appearance is nearly identical to that of N. capensis with the exceptions of its walking legs, which feature proportionally longer dactyli,[2] and its spines which are also proportionally longer.[1]
Invasive species
[edit]N. yaldwyni – along with Paralomis birsteini – are believed to be an invasive species, and there are fears that global warming could allow it to enter the Antarctic continental shelf within the coming decades and damage the ecosystem's native fauna.[4][5] The invertebrate macrofauna of the Antarctic continental shelf are largely either slow-moving or completely sessile and are not adequately adapted to the shell-crushing predators which typically live deeper in the ocean, meaning that they could be uniquely vulnerable to these crabs were they to emerge from the bathyal zone.[6] This hypothesis has been disputed under the contention that, rather than having been driven out of the Antarctic 40 to 15 million years ago and only now returning to colonise it, lithodids have "a long and enduring existence in the region" and that, if lithodids were to colonise the shelf, they may not necessarily be generalists which would predate on sedentary invertebrates.[7]
Etymology
[edit]"Neolithodes" is derived from Greek and Latin and means "new stone-crab",[8] while "yaldwyni" is named after New Zealander carcinologist John Cameron Yaldwyn.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Ahyong, Shane T.; Dawson, Elliot W. (28 August 2006). "Lithodidae from the Ross Sea, Antarctica, with descriptions of two new species (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura)". Zootaxa. 1303 (1): 45–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1303.1.3.
- ^ a b c d e Ahyong, Shane T. (2010). The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) (PDF). NIWA Diversity Memoirs. Vol. 123. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. pp. 101–107. ISBN 978-0478232851. LCCN 2010497356. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2020.
- ^ Ahyong, Shane T. (2010). The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) (PDF). NIWA Diversity Memoirs. Vol. 123. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. pp. 74, 83. ISBN 978-0478232851. LCCN 2010497356. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2020.
- ^ Smith, Craig Randall; et al. (7 March 2012). "A large population of king crabs in Palmer Deep on the west Antarctic Peninsula shelf and potential invasive impacts". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 279 (1730): 1017–1026. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.1496. PMC 3259932. PMID 21900324.
- ^ Aronson, Richard B.; et al. (20 October 2015). Paine, Robert T. (ed.). "No barrier to emergence of bathyal king crabs on the Antarctic shelf". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 112 (42): 12997–13002. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11212997A. doi:10.1073/pnas.1513962112. JSTOR 26465553. PMC 4620881. PMID 26417090.
- ^ Thatje, Sven; Smith, Kathryn E.; McClintock, James BA.; Aronson, Richard B. (July 2020). "From deep to shallow seas: Antarctic king crab on the move". Ecology. 101 (11): e03125. doi:10.1002/ecy.3125. PMID 32602139.
- ^ Griffiths, Huw J.; Whittle, Rowan J.; Roberts, Stephen J.; Belchier, Mark; Linse, Katrin (July 2013). Archambault, Philippe (ed.). "Antarctic Crabs: Invasion or Endurance?". PLoS One. 8 (7): e66981. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...866981G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066981. PMC 3700924. PMID 23843974.
- ^ Emmerson, W. D. (July 2016). A Guide to, and Checklist for, the Decapoda of Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique. Vol. 2. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-4438-9097-7.
External links
[edit]
Data related to Neolithodes yaldwyni at Wikispecies
