Catalogue of squat lobsters of the world (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura—families Chirostylidae, Galatheidae and Kiwaidae)

Abstract

Taxonomic and ecological interest in squat lobsters has grown considerably over the last two decades. A checklist of the 870 current valid species of squat lobsters of the world (families Chirostylidae, Galatheidae and Kiwaidae) is presented. The compilation includes the complete taxonomic synonymy and geographical distribution of each species plus type information (type locality, repository and registration number). The numbers of described species in the world’s major ocean basins are summarised.

New Perceptions of Continental Margin Biodiversity

“…Our fi rst approach, thus, was to focus on two taxa that are widespread on continental margins and for which there is an active community of deep -sea taxonomists. For squat lobsters, we fi rst compiled the literature and published a list of 800 known species (Baba et al 2008 ), which we have now analyzed to address these questions. We also gathered, standardized, and analyzed individual datasets on deep -sea nematodes to decipher the processes that defi ne global species distributions.…”

Diet and gut microorganisms ofMunidopsissquat lobsters associated with natural woods and mesh-enclosed substrates in the deep South Pacific

“…This genus is found mostly in the deep sea (Baba et al 2008), it is the most commonly encountered galatheid genus in reducing environments (Chevaldonné & Olu 1996), and it is known to be highly tolerant to hypoxia (Hendrickx 2001(Hendrickx , 2003. Its members are generally thought to occupy the ecological niche of predators or scavengers in these ecosystems, along with the brachyuran crabs (Phleger et al 2005), but this contrasts with the present data suggesting that three Munidopsis species are deposit-feeders, feeding at least partly on microorganisms.…”

A new species of Munidopsis (Anomura, Galatheoidea, Munidopsidae) from the Gulf of California, western Mexico

“…Even after having been separated from the other "galatheoids", the Munidopsidae remains a very speciose family with about 270 species in four genera: Galacantha A. Milne-Edwards, 1880; Leiogalathea Baba, 1969;Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1874;andShinkaia Baba &Williams, 1998 (MacPherson, 2007;Baba et al, 2008;Ahyong et al, 2010;Taylor et al, 2010). The vast majority of these species belong to the genus Munidopsis.…”