Deep-Sea Decapod Fauna of the Western Mediterranean: Bathymetric Distribution and Biogeographic Aspects

• Published in: Crustaceana
• Main Author: Cartes, Joan Enric
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Brill Academic Publishers 1993
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/275736; https://doi.org/10.1163/156854093X00342

12 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables [EN] A total of 57 bottom trawl hauls, using an OTSB-14, were carried out at depths between 862 and 2265 m in the Catalan Sea in 1988 and 1989. 28 species were identified including 6 Dendrobranchiata, 1 Stenopodidean, 7 Caridea, 2 Thalassinidea, 2 Palinura, 3 Anomura, and 7 Brachyura. Munidopsis tridentata, Chaceon mediterraneus and a new species of Axiidae were the most important faunistic records in this survey. Changes in the decapod crustacean fauna in the Catalan Sea were reflected by an impoverishment of species with increasing depth. The most pronounced qualitative changes in the fauna were recorded between 1000 and 1200 m and at around 2000 m. The bathyal decapod fauna in the western Mediterranean is quite similar to that in the Atlantic. The most important families and genera common to both bathyal zones are the Crangonidae, Galatheidae and Geryonidae, and the genera Nematocarcinus and Stereomastis. In contrast, the tropical species Aristeus antennatus, Acanthephyra eximia, and Plesionika acanthonotus, that are of little importance in the North Atlantic, are widely distributed and frequent in the deep western Mediterranean. © 1993, BRILL. All rights reserved [FR] 57 chalutages benthiques, avec un chalut OTSB-14, ont ete effectues en mer Catalane en 1988-1989, entre 862 et 2265 metres de profondeur. 28 especes ont ete identifiees, a savoir: 6 Dendrobranchiata, 1 Stenopodide, 7 Caridea, 2 Thalassinidea, 2 Palinura, 3 Anomura et 7 Brachyura. Munidopsis tridentata, Chaceon mediterraneus et un nouvelle espece d'Axiidae sont les apports faunistiques les plus importants fournis par ces prospections. Les changements dans la faune des crustaces decapodes en mer Catalane ont ete marques par un appauvrissement des especes avec la profondeur. Les changements qualitatifs les plus prononces dans la faune ont ete enregistres entre 1000 et 1200 m et vers 2000 m. La faune bathyale de decapodes de Mediterranee occidentale et celle de l'Atlantique sont tout a fait similaires. Les families ...