Arctides guineensis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Arctides guineensis |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
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Achelata
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| Family: |
Scyllaridae
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| Genus: |
Arctides
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| Species: |
A. guineensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Arctides guineensis (Spengler, 1799)
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The Arctides guineensis is a type of slipper lobster. It lives in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. In Bermuda, people often call it the small Spanish lobster. This name is also used by the FAO.
What does the small Spanish lobster look like?
This slipper lobster can grow up to 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) long. Its main body shell, called a carapace, is usually between 4 and 6 centimeters long.
Who discovered the small Spanish lobster?
Scientists first described Arctides guineensis in 1799. This makes it one of the earliest slipper lobsters ever studied! It was also only the second one found in the Western Atlantic Ocean.
For a while, people thought the Arctides regalis from Hawaii was the same species. However, scientists later found differences. The two lobsters have different numbers and placements of spines on their shells.
When Arctides guineensis was first described, the scientist Lorenz Spengler thought it came from the coast of Guinea, which is likely Ghana. But this lobster has never been found near Africa. This means the original location given was probably a mistake! Another scientist, Pierre André Latreille, also described it in 1818. He thought it came from the Mediterranean Sea, which is also very unlikely.
