Galathea squamifera

Galathea squamifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Galatheidae
Genus:	Galathea
Species:	G. squamifera
Binomial name
Galathea squamifera Leach, 1814 [1]

Galathea squamifera, the black squat lobster,^[1] or Montagu's plated lobster,^[2] is a species of squat lobster that lives in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Description

Adults are up to 65 millimetres (2.6 in) long, with a carapace 32 mm (1.3 in) long; the body is chestnut brown with a green tinge, and the spines projecting from the carapace are red at the tips.^[3] The rostrum is triangular in shape with four spines on either side.^[4] The first pair of pereiopods are 1½ times as long as the body, and have well-developed claws.^[4]

Distribution and ecology

G. squamifera is found from Norway to the Azores and in the Mediterranean Sea,^[3] and is the most commonly found species of squat lobster on the shores of Northern Europe.^[4] It lives between the low water mark and depths of about 70 metres (230 ft),^[3] under stones and in rock fissures.^[4]

G. squamifera is chiefly nocturnal,^[5] and catches passing prey, such as small fish, with its claws. Species which feed on G. squamifera include the fishes Scorpaena porcus and Serranus atricauda.^[6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} C. Fransen, M. Türkay. "Galathea squamifera Leach, 1814". World Register of Marine Species. http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=107154. Retrieved February 15, 2009. 
2. ^ John Edward Gray (1850). "Part IV. Crustacea". List of the specimens of British animals in the collection of the British Museum. British Museum. http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/24179/24179.pdf. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} M. J. de Kluijver & S. S. Ingalsuo. "Galathea squamifera". Macrobenthos of the North Sea: Crustacea. Universiteit van Amsterdam. http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=160. Retrieved February 15, 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} S. J. Rowley (2008). "Galathea squamifera, a squat lobster". Marine Life Information Network. Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Galatheasquamifera.htm. 
5. ^ S. de Grave & J. R. Turner (1997). "Activity rhythms of the squat lobsters, Galathea squamifera and G. strigosa (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in south-west Ireland". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 77: 273–276. doi:10.1017/S002531540003397X. http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/15340/15340.pdf. 
6. ^ "Organisms preying on Galathea squamifera". SeaLifeBase. http://sealifebase.org/TrophicEco/PredatorList.php?ID=26611&GenusName=Galathea&SpeciesName=squamifera. Retrieved February 15, 2009.