Zoosystema
19 (4) - Pages 721-727Several specimens of a new species of lithodid crab have been discovered in the biological material collected by three expeditions on hydrothermal sites in the south-western pacific, in 1989 and 1995: the French campaign Biolau in the Lau Basin, and the Franco-Japanese and Germano-French campaigns in the North Fiji Basin. Paralomis hirtella n.sp., described herein, is distinguished from all the others of the genus by the smooth dorsal surface of the carapace, usually entirely devoid of granules, tubercules or spines, but sparsely covered by tufts of erect setae. Members of the family Lithodidae, mainly of the genus Paralomis, have often been reported from hydrothermal environments (Chevaldonné & Olu 1996) and P. hirtella is the third species of the genus discovered in the exploration of hydrothermal sites.
hydrothermal vents, south western Pacific, Lithodidae, Paralomis, new species.