Encounter of lithodid crab Paralomis birsteini on the continental slope off Antarctica, sampled by ROV

• Published in: Polar Biology
• Main Authors: Thatje, S., Hall, S., Hauton, C., Held, C., Tyler, P.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Southern Ocean; Bellingshausen Sea; Macpherson; Antarc*; Antarctica; Polar Biology
• Online Access: https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/51132/; https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/51132/1/Thatje_PolarBiol_08.pdf

A population of stone crab (Lithodidae) was encountered on the continental slope off Antarctica in the Bellingshausen Sea between 1123m and 1304m water depths using the ROV-Isis during leg 166 of the RV James Clark Ross, in January 2007. Specimens were video recorded and one specimen was retrieved by ROV for morphological and molecular identification. Based on morphology and molecular data from the mitochondrial COI gene, this specimen identified as P. birsteini, Macpherson, 1988. The significance of the molecular data and their implications for biogeography and evolution of lithodids in the Southern Ocean are briefly discussed.