Gandalfus yunohana

Gandalfus yunohana is a species of blind crab found on hydrothermal vents on the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea Plate south of Japan.[1] It lives at shallower depths than other members of the family Bythograeidae, at 420–1,380 m (1,380–4,530 ft).[2] Because no light penetrates to such depths, the eyes of G. yunohana are immobile and unpigmented.[2]

Gandalfus yunohana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
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Genus:
Gandalfus
Species:
G. yunohana
Binomial name
Gandalfus yunohana
(Takeda, Hashimoto & Ohta, 2000)
Synonyms

Austinograea yunohana Takeda, Hashimoto & Ohta, 2000

Males have a carapace up to 41.9 mm × 26.9 mm (1.6 in × 1.1 in) across, while females are larger, at 50.5 mm × 32.5 mm (2.0 in × 1.3 in).[2]

It was originally described as Austinograea yunohana in 2000, but was transferred in 2007 by Colin McLay to his new genus, Gandalfus, named after the character Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.[2]

References

  1. M. Takeda, J. Hashimoto & S. Ohta (2000). "A new species of the family Bythograeidae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the hydrothermal vents along volcanic front of the Philippine Sea Plate". Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo. A. 26 (4): 159–172.
  2. Colin McLay (2007). "New crabs from hydrothermal vents of the Kermadec Ridge submarine volcanoes, New Zealand: Gandalfus gen. nov. (Bythograeidae) and Xenograpsus (Varunidae) (Decapoda: Brachyura)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1524: 1–22.
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