Les Crustacés décapodes des Petites Antilles

The Lesser Antilles are an almost homogeneous insular region situated at the core of the ­Caribbean Province, identified as a remarkably rich « Hot Spot » of biodiversity in the western Atlantic. With a total of more than a thousand species, Les Crustacés décapodes des Petites ­Antilles presents for the first time a documented inventory of the shrimps, lobsters, hermit crabs and crabs of the ­region. This inventory is based on a literature search of ca. 600 scientific contributions published over more than two centuries and integrates American, French, Dutch and Venezuelan research efforts. Also included are some unpublished data from recent expeditions to the French islands of St Martin, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Readers will find an up-to-date list of the species that ­complies with the latest taxonomic revisions as well as providing the source of each record. An analysis of the list provides: a sampling history of the islands, the result of the inventory ­presented by families, islands and archipelagos, the documentation of the major ecological habitats, the ­zoogeographic appraisal distinguishing marine and freshwater fauna and the prospects for new discoveries of undescribed species. This work illustrates many species in colour, with photographs taken in the laboratory and in the field.