Polycheles sculptus

Polycheles sculptus is a species of "strange, blind crustacean" resembling a prawn or a squat lobster.[3] It has a cosmopolitan distribution in deep water, being found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Mediterranean Sea, and across much of the Indo-West Pacific,[4] at depths of 200–4,000 metres (660–13,120 ft).[3]

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  Polycheles sculptus on display
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  Illustration from Decapoda reptantia of the coasts of Ireland
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  Stereomastis sculpta (syn. Polycheles sculptus) on display (colors have faded)

Polycheles sculptus
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Family:	Polychelidae
Genus:	Polycheles
Species:	P. sculptus
Binomial name
Polycheles sculptus S. I. Smith, 1880 [2]
Synonyms[3]
Stereomastis sculpta (Smith, 1880) Pentacheles spinosus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 Pentacheles sculptus Smith, 1882

References

1. T. Y. Chan (2011). "Stereomastis sculpta". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T185012A8347162. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-1.RLTS.T185012A8347162.en.
2. "Polycheles sculptus S. I. Smith, 1880". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
3. Bella Galil (2000). A. Crosnier (ed.). "Crustacea Decapoda: Review of the genera and species of the family Polychelidae Wood-Mason, 1874" (PDF). Mémoires du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM. 21 (184): 285–387.
4. Shane T. Ahyong & Tin-Yam Chan (2004). "Polychelid lobsters of Taiwan (Decapoda: Polychelidae)" (PDF). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 52 (1): 171–182.