Allogalathea

Allogalathea elegans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Galatheidae
Genus:	Allogalathea Baba, 1969
Species:	A. elegans
Binomial name
Allogalathea elegans (Adams & White, 1848)
Synonyms [1]
Galathea deflexifrons Haswell, 1882 Galathea elegans Adams & White, 1848 Galathea grandirostris Stimpson, 1858 Galathea longirostris Dana, 1852 Galathea longirostris Yokoya, 1936

Allogalathea elegans (known as the feather star squat lobster, crinoid squat lobster or elegant squat lobster) is a species of squat lobster that is sometimes kept in marine aquariums. It is the only species in the genus Allogalathea.^[2]

Black and white colour morph

Description

The body of A. elegans is 1.5–2 inches (38–51 mm) long, egg-shaped and striped.^[3] It is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, where it lives among the tentacles of crinoids. The colour of the animals varies to match the species of crinoid with which it is commensal.^[4]

In aquaria

In an aquarium, A. elegans requires a water temperature of 77–79 °F (25–26 °C), a pH of 8.1–8.3 and a salinity of 1.020–1.024. Small crevices in rocks act as hiding places for this shy crustacean. A. elegans prefers thawed food but will also eat small freeze dried items.^[3]

References

1. ^ Gary C. B. Poore & Enrique Macpherson (2009). "Allogalathea elegans (Adams & White, 1848)". World Register of Marine Species. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=246208. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 
2. ^ Keiji Baba, Enrique Macpherson, Gary C. B. Poore, Shane T. Ahyong, Adriana Bermudez, Patricia Cabezas, Chia-Wei Lin, Martha Nizinski, Celso Rodrigues & Kareen E. Schnabel (2008). "Catalogue of squat lobsters of the world (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura — families Chirostylidae, Galatheidae and Kiwaidae)". Zootaxa 1905: 1–220. http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01905p220.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b} David Alderton (2005). Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish. Dorling-Kindersley. pp. 291. ISBN 0-7566-0941-0. 
4. ^ Bob Fenner. "Squat Lobsters, Family Galatheidae". Wet Web Media. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/galatheids.htm. Retrieved April 8, 2010. 

External links

• Media related to Allogalathea at Wikimedia Commons