Reef lobster

Enoplometopus antillensis

The reef lobsters ( Enoplometopus ) are the only genus in the family Enoplometopidae within the decapods ( Decapoda ).

Appearance

The crabs have the typical lobster shape, with hairy scissors that make up a third of the body length. They usually remain smaller than 15 centimeters. Reef lobsters are very colorful, often with a reddish color and yellow, or purple dots or stripes.

Dissemination

Reef lobsters live in the reefs of the tropical Indo-Pacific and the tropical Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean. They are occasionally imported for aquaristic purposes. But you live well hidden in the Riffaqarium and must be strictly kept individually on grounds of incompatibility.

Reproduction

The Riffhummern copulation takes place shortly after the molt of the female. To this end, the males of the reef lobsters have reshuffled the first pair of hind legs to a two-piece tubular copulatory organ. Thus, the male transfers the sperm in a sperm pocket between the last three pairs of legs of the female. The eggs glide after mating to the vent past the seed bag and be fertilized there. Then, they are adhered to the underside of the rear body. After six days, at night, the larvae hatch.

Species

Types of Enoplometopus usually have a characteristic color, which simplifies their distinction. Other distinguishing features are the number and shape of spikes on the carapace, the morphology of the scissors as well as of the pleura of the sixth abdominal segment. The genus includes the following 12 species:

  • Enoplometopus antillensis Lütken, 1865
  • Enoplometopus callistus Intes and Le Loeuff, 1970
  • Enoplometopus chacei Kensley & Child, 1986
  • Enoplometopus crosnieri Chan & Yu, 1998
  • Enoplometopus daumi Holthuis, 1983
  • Enoplometopus debelius Holthuis, 1983
  • Enoplometopus gracilipes ( De Saint Laurent, 1988)
  • Enoplometopus holthuisi Gordon, 1968
  • Enoplometopus macrodontus Chan & Ng, 2008
  • Enoplometopus occidentalis ( Randall, 1840)
  • Pictus A. Milne Edwards Enoplometopus, 1862
  • Enoplometopus voigt manni Türkay, 1989

Swell

  • SA Fosså, & AJ Nilsen: Coral Reef Aquarium. Volume 6, Birgit Schmettkamp Verlag, Bornheim 1998, ISBN 3-928819-18-6
  • Tin -Yam Chan, Peter K. L. Ng: Enoplometopus A. Milne -Edwards, 1862 ( Crustacea: Decapoda: Nephropoidea ) from the Philippines, with Description of One New Species and a Revised Key to the genus. In: Bulletin of Marine Science. 83, No. 2, 2008, pp. 347-365 ( full text, accessed on January 30, 2013).
  • J. Poupin: Reef lobsters Enoplometopus A. Milne Edwards, 1862 from French Polynesia, with a letter revision of the genus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Enoplometopidae ). In: Zoosystema. 25, No. 4, 2003, pp. 643-664 (PDF, 4.4 MB, accessed on 29 January 2013).
Pleocyemata Alphonse Milne-Edwards
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