Enoplometopus antillensis Lütken, 1865

Poupin, Joseph, 2003, Reef lobsters Enoplometopus A. Milne Edwards, 1862 from French Polynesia, with a brief revision of the genus (Crustacea, Decapoda, Enoplometopidae), Zoosystema 25 (4), pp. 643-664 : 655-656

Enoplometopus antillensis Lütken, 1865

Enoplometopus antillensis Lütken, 1865: 265 (type locality: West Indies).

Enoplometopus antillensis – Holthuis 1946: 72 (type specimen). — Fausto Filho 1970: 55 ( Brazil); 1976: 222 ( Brazil). — Debelius 1986: 13 (photograph). — Wirtz et al. 1988: 170 ( Cape Verde). — Manning & Camp 1989: 412 ( Bermuda, East coast of Florida, Bahama, Panama, Netherlands West Indies, St Helena Island, Gulf of Guinea). — Scelzo & Rodriguez 1991: 226 ( Venezuela). — González Pérez 1995: 134, 137 (Canary Islands). — Wirtz & Herrera 1995: 116 (Canary Islands). — Wirtz 1996: 368 (Canary Islands). — Chan & Yu 1998: 190 (key). — Debelius 1999: 45 (Canary Islands).

Enoplometopus (Hoplometopus) antillensis – Holthuis 1983: 282 (new subgenus).

Hoplometopus antillensis – de Saint Laurent 1988: 61 (list).

Enoplometopus dentatus Miers, 1880: 381 (St Helena) . — Gordon 1968: 80 (St Helena). — Manning & Camp 1989: 412 (West Indies; St Helena).

Enoplometopus sp. – Forest 1959: 22 (Gulf of Guinea).

Non Enoplometopus antillensis – Holthuis 1946: 79 (= E. holthuisi Gordon, 1968 , except for pl. V, fig. h and pl. VII, fig. b, drawn from type specimen of E. antillensis ).

A few additional references can be found in Manning & Camp (1989) and González Pérez (1995).

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — West Atlantic. Guadeloupe, Basse Terre, îlet du Gosier, trap 80 m, XI.2002, coll. D. Lamy, A. Crosnier det., 1 ♂ cl 37 mm, bl 97 mm ( MNHN As 629).

Central Atlantic. Ascencion Island, off Southwest Point near Rocked Launcher, under rocks, dive at night 12 m, V.1981, coll. McDowell, 1 ♂ cl 26.7 mm, bl 81.5 mm ( MNHN As 558, leg. R. B. Manning).

East Atlantic. Gulf of Guinea, Annobon Island, Frv Calypso , stn 109, 1°25.10’S, 5°36.10’E, dive at 20 m, 5.VII.1956, 1 ♀ cl 20.0 mm, bl 62 mm (MNHN As 557).

DISTRIBUTION. — West Atlantic: Bermuda, east coast of Florida, Bahama (Grand Bahama Island), Netherlands West Indies ( Bonaire), French West Indies (Guadeloupe), Panama (Golfo de Mesquites, Bahía de Almirante), Venezuela, Brazil (off northeast coast and off Rio Grande do Norte State). Central Atlantic: Ascencion and St Helena islands, off Brazil 03°17’S, 29°57’W (larvae). East Atlantic: Madeira, Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Hierro, Lanzarote, Tenerife), Gulf of Guinea (off Gabon and Annobon Island), Cape Verde (Sal). Deep distribution: 5- 201 m, mainly between 15- 30 m. On rocky bottoms.

DIAGNOSIS. — Lateral margin of rostrum with three or four spines. Carapace armed with five median, two postcervical, one intermediate, one supraocular, and three lateral spines. Chela broad and compressed, 3.6- 4.0 times as long as wide, upper and lower faces of palm smooth; outer margin of dactyl smooth. Second pereopod with dactyl 0.3 times as long as propodus; carpus and merus with distoventral spine. Pleura of abdominal somites II-V with smooth margins and sharp, posteriorly curved, median tooth. Male first pleopod with deep incision on distal margin. Telson with two lateral and two distolateral spines.

COLORATION

Ground color of body orange to red with white on spines. Lateral face of carapace with large white circle, surrounding median white spot, and white oblique lines posterior to circle; dorsal and posterolateral faces with minute red spots on lighter red background. Upper face of palm of chela with several orange red patches; fingers banded in white and orange red. Abdomen with white spots circled in dark orange or black. Ambulatory legs red orange with narrow white bands ( González Pérez 1995).

REMARKS

This is the most common species found in the Atlantic and the only Enoplometopus lobster reported from the tropical west Atlantic. In the tropical east Atlantic it co-occurs with E. callistus . In central Atlantic Islands, St Helena and Ascencion islands, it must be very common as the collector of the specimens examined herein indicates on the label: “[...] specimens from St Helena are larger and are often eaten there, mostly by fishermen as they get into their fish and lobster traps”.