First record of lithodid crabs from Antarctic waters off the Balleny Islands

Four specimens of Neolithodes brodiei Dawson and Yaldwyn (1970) have been obtained for the first time from bottom trawls deployed in Antarctic waters off the Balleny Islands (about 67°S) in March 2004. The Lithodidae constitute the only anomuran crab family so far known to be able to thrive under hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Thatje, S., Lorz, A.N.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2005
Subjects:
Antarctic
Balleny Islands
New Zealand
Ross Sea
Scott Island
Southern Ocean
Antarc*
Polar Biology
Online Access:https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/38980/
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/38980/1/Thatje_Neolithodes.pdf
Description
Summary:Four specimens of Neolithodes brodiei Dawson and Yaldwyn (1970) have been obtained for the first time from bottom trawls deployed in Antarctic waters off the Balleny Islands (about 67°S) in March 2004. The Lithodidae constitute the only anomuran crab family so far known to be able to thrive under high-Antarctic conditions, and lithodids in the Ross Sea have previously only been recorded off Scott Island. The new record of N. brodiei, commonly found in waters off New Zealand, clearly extends its geographic range into the Southern Ocean. The significance of this finding with respect to the biodiversity and distribution of the Lithodidae from the Southern Ocean is briefly discussed.

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