Nephropsis atlantica

Nephropsis atlantica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Nephropidae
Genus:	Nephropsis
Species:	N. atlantica
Binomial name
Nephropsis atlantica Norman, 1882

Nephropsis atlantica, sometimes called the scarlet lobsterette or scarlet clawed lobster, is a species of lobster from the Atlantic Ocean.

Description

Nephropsis atlantica is relatively small for a lobster, growing to a maximum total length of 103 millimetres (4.1 in).^[1]

Distribution

Nephropsis atlantica is found on muddy substrates in deep waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Faroe Islands to Namibia.^{[1][Note 1]} It has been recorded at depths of 470–1,804 metres (1,500–5,900 ft), but is most frequent at 900–1,000 m (3,000–3,300 ft).^[1]

Taxonomy

Nephropsis atlantica was first described by the Reverend Canon Alfred Merle Norman in a report sent to Charles Wyville Thomson in 1880, and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1882. The report was one of several published simultaneously on the various organisms dredged up by the ship Knight Errant in the Faroe–Shetland Channel. Norman's report opens "I send a list; it is a very interesting one", and goes on to detail species known from previous expeditions to the North Atlantic and three new species – Ampelisca compacta (Amphipoda: Ampeliscidae), Halirages elegans (Amphipoda: Calliopiidae) and Nephropsis atlantica.^[2] The type specimens were collected on August 10, 1880 at 59°33′N 7°14′W / 59.55°N 7.233°W / 59.55; -7.233 at a depth of 555 fathoms (3,330 ft; 1,015 m); they are presumed to have been lost since.^[1]

Notes

External identifiers for Nephropsis atlantica
EOL	343013
ITIS	552917
WoRMS	107255

1. ^ Records of N. atlantica from the Indo-Pacific are thought to be misidentifications of Nephropsis sulcata.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Lipke B. Holthuis (1991). "Nephropsis atlantica". Marine Lobsters of the World. FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 125. Food and Agriculture Organization. p. 38–39. ISBN 92-5-103027-8. http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/lobsters.php?menuentry=soorten&id=112. 
2. ^ Rev. A. M. Norman (1882). Report on the Crustacea. In Staff-Commander Tizard, R.N., and John Murray. "Exploration of the Faroe Channel, during the Summer of 1880, in H.M.'s hired ship "Knight Errant"". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: 683–689. http://www.archive.org/details/proceedingsroya00edingoog.