On the presence of the deep-sea blind lobster Stereomastis suhmi (Decapoda: Polychelidae) in Southwestern Atlantic waters and its circum-Antarctic distribution

Figures & data

Figure 1 Dorsal and lateral view of a male Stereomastis suhmi, carapace length 15.7 mm, captured in the Mar del Plata Canyon, continental slope of Argentina, southwest Atlantic, 38°072′S, 54°123′W, at 1800 m depth, MACN-In 39629.

Figure 2 Stereomastis suhmi (Bate 1878): Comparison of previously described specimens with the one reported in this work. A, B, Dorsal view of the cephalothorax. A, Female 31.2 mm, off Cape Province, ‘Africana’, 31°20′S, 16°09′E, 462 m (from Galil 2000). B, Male of S. suhmi, carapace length 15.7 mm in this work, MACN-In 39629. C, D, Lateral view of the abdomen. C, Female 26.5 mm, Tasman Sea, ‘Galathea’ stn 626, 42°10′S, 170°10′E, 610 m. D, Male of S. suhmi, carapace length 15.7 mm in this work, MACN-In 39629. Pictures of previously described specimens are from Galil (2000), © Publications Scientifiques du Muséum National D’histoire Naturelle, 21:285–387.

Figure 3 Schematic representation of the distribution of Stereomastis suhmi and oceanographic features mentioned in the text. The dark star corresponds to the location of the new record reported in this work. Dark areas in continental margins are the previously known distribution. The grey transparent shaded area marked by the dotted line between the new record and those from Chilean Patagonia and Magellan’s Strait represents the hypothetical Magellanic distribution of the species in America. The area of formation of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and the branches flowing towards the equator are in light grey, dotted lines and double-headed arrows. Dashed lines with simple-headed arrows are main surface currents. STF, Subtropical front (or subtropical convergence); SAF, Subantarctic front; PF, Polar front (also known as Antarctic convergence).

Bate CS 1878. On the Willemoesia group of Crustacea. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5: 273–283.

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Galil BS 2000. Crustacea Decapoda: review of the genera and species of the family Polychelidae Wood-Mason, 1874. Mémoires du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle 21: 285–387.

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