Cardus crucifer

Cardus crucifer is a species of blind deep-water decapod crustacean from the Atlantic Ocean,[4] the only species in the genus Cardus. It differs from other members of the family Polychelidae in having only four pairs of claws, instead of five, in both sexes.[5] The name Cardus refers to the thistle Carduus, in reference to the spiny thistle-like carapace.[5] It is found in the eastern Atlantic from Portugal to Morocco and around the Azores and Canary Islands, and in the Bahamas, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, at depths of 550–2,200 metres (1,800–7,220 ft).[5]

Cardus crucifer
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Polychelidae
Genus:	Cardus Galil, 2000 [2]
Species:	C. crucifer
Binomial name
Cardus crucifer (Thomson, 1873) [3]
Synonyms [4]
Deidamia crucifer Thomson, 1873 (basionym) Polycheles crucifer (Thomson, 1873)

References

1. T. Y. Chan (2011). "Cardus crucifer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T185015A8348526. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T185015A8348526.en.
2. "Cardus Galil, 2000". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
3. "Cardus crucifer (Thomson, 1873)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
4. T. Chan (2009). "Cardus crucifer (Thomson, 1873)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
5. Bella S. Galil (2000). "Crustacea Decapoda: Review of the genera and species of the family Polychelidae Wood-Mason, 1874". In A. Crosnier (ed.). Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 21 (PDF). Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 184. Paris: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. pp. 285–387. ISBN 2-85653-526-7.