Galathea squamifera
{{Short description|Species of crustacean}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| image = Galathea squamifera.jpg
| taxon = Galathea squamifera
| authority = Leach, 1814 {{WoRMS |title=Galathea squamifera Leach, 1814 |year=2023 |id=107154 |db=decapoda |access-date=5 May 2023}}
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Galathea squamifera, the black squat lobster, or Montagu's plated lobster,{{cite book |url=http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/24179/24179.pdf |title=List of the specimens of British animals in the collection of the British Museum |author=John Edward Gray |author-link=John Edward Gray |publisher=British Museum |year=1850 |chapter=Part IV. Crustacea}} is a species of squat lobster that lives in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.
Description
Adults are up to {{convert|65|mm}} long, with a carapace {{convert|32|mm|abbr=on}} long; the body is chestnut brown with a green tinge, and the spines projecting from the carapace are red at the tips.{{cite web|url=http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=160 |title=Galathea squamifera |work=Macrobenthos of the North Sea: Crustacea |author=M. J. de Kluijver |author2=S. S. Ingalsuo |publisher=Universiteit van Amsterdam |access-date=February 15, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608011159/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/bis/crustacea.php?selected=beschrijving&menuentry=soorten&id=160 |archive-date=June 8, 2011 |df= }} The rostrum is triangular in shape with four spines on either side.{{cite web |author=S. J. Rowley |year=2008 |title=Galathea squamifera, a squat lobster |work=Marine Life Information Network |publisher=Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |url=http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/Galatheasquamifera.htm}} The first pair of pereiopods are 1½ times as long as the body, and have well-developed claws.
Distribution and ecology
G. squamifera is found from Norway to the Azores and in the Mediterranean Sea, and is the most commonly found species of squat lobster on the shores of Northern Europe. It lives between the low water mark and depths of about {{convert|70|m}}, under stones and in rock fissures.
G. squamifera is chiefly nocturnal,{{cite journal |url=http://decapoda.nhm.org/pdfs/15340/15340.pdf |title=Activity rhythms of the squat lobsters, Galathea squamifera and G. strigosa (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) in south-west Ireland |author=S. de Grave & J. R. Turner |year=1997 |journal=Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |volume=77 |pages=273–276 |doi=10.1017/S002531540003397X}} and catches passing prey, such as small fish, with its claws. Species which feed on G. squamifera include the fishes Scorpaena porcus and Serranus atricauda.{{cite web |url=http://sealifebase.org/TrophicEco/PredatorList.php?ID=26611&GenusName=Galathea&SpeciesName=squamifera |title=Organisms preying on Galathea squamifera |work=SeaLifeBase |accessdate=February 15, 2009}}
References
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Category:Anomura of the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea