Until now, only 81 species of the genus Galathea were known. The work, led by the CSIC’s scientist Enrique Macpherson, has been developed during seven years. The 9,000 specimens analyzed, which are preserved in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris and in the University of Florida, were found on scientific expeditions the last twenty years.
92 new species of lobsters of the genus Galathea have been described first time in a major work developed by the research professor Enrique Macpherson, at the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), and Aymée Robainas, at the Department of Genetics of the Universidad de Barcelona.
The scientists have studied 9,000 specimens, all of them from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from Madagascar to the Red Sea and the French Polynesia. The specimens, which are preserved in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris and in the University of Florida, were found on scientific expeditions carried out the last twenty years.
Macpherson and Robainas have dedicated seven years to study these lobsters. They have analyzed the morphology and genetic sequences of the samples and conclude, as they say in the work published in Zootaxa, that the 9.000 lobsters belong to 144 species, 92 of which are totally new. Until now, only 81 species of the genus Galathea were known.
Macpherson, CSIC’s taxonomist that has led the work, explains that the lobsters analyzed have rich coloration, which allow the animals to hide in the colourful coral reefs where they usually live. The lobsters come mainly from coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific oceans, where exists a high biodiversity, especially in the Western Pacific. Although the lobsters are not in danger, the coral reefs to which they are associated are facing serious threats. The destruction of the coral reefs would jeopardize the lobsters.
Among the new species described, Enrique Machperson picks out one example of beautiful and unusual coloration: the Galathea polyphemus, named after the Greek myth of Polyphemus and Galathea. The specimen analyzed in the work is a male that was found in the French Polynesia. Another new species with a striking coloration is the Galathea boucheti, from Madagascar. In this case, the lobster has blue spirals on the yellow shell.
Zootaxa 3913 (1): 001–335 (22 Jan. 2015)
Species of the genus Galathea Fabricius, 1793 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Galatheidae) from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with descriptions of 92 new species. ENRIQUE MACPHERSON & AYMEE ROBAINAS-BARCIA http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3913.1