Bathyarctus, Holthuis, 2002

Holthuis, Lipke B., 2002, The Indo-Pacific scyllarine lobsters (Crustacea, Decapoda, Scyllaridae), Zoosystema 24 (3), pp. 499-683 : 504-505

Genus Bathyarctus n. gen.

TYPE SPECIES. — Arctus rubens Alcock & Anderson, 1894 by present designation.

OTHER SPECIES. — The genus contains three other Indo-West Pacific species: Bathyarctus steatopygus n. sp., B. formosanus ( Chan & Yu, 1992) n. comb. and B. chani n. sp.; furthermore there are two species from the western Atlantic region, B. faxoni ( Bouvier, 1917) n. comb. and B. ramosae (Tavares, 1997) n. comb.

ETYMOLOGY. — From the Greek bathys (meaning deep) and Arctus De Haan, 1849 , a junior synonym of the generic name Scyllarus Fabricius, 1775 . Three of the species of this genus, namely, are known only from great depths (320-)330-720(-810) m.

DIAGNOSIS. — Scyllaridae with the carapace in the midline provided with a pregastric, gastric and cardiac tooth; there is no sharp rostral tooth; the pregastric tooth is sometimes absent or reduced to a low and short transverse carina. Abdominal somites with prominent median carinae, that of the fourth somite slightly to distinctly higher than that of somite III; dorsal surface of abdomen without a clear and sharp arborescent arrangement of narrow grooves. Fourth segment of antenna with two oblique dorsal carinae. Thoracic sternum with the anterior margin straight and transverse or arched, not incised in the middle. In most species the dactylus and merus of all pereiopods and the propodus of legs 2-4 with ventral hairs; dorsal fringes may be found on the dactyli of P.1 to P.4 (often short and indistinct), on the propodi of P.1-P.4, on the carpi of P.1-P.5 and on the merus of P.1-P.5.

DISTRIBUTION. — Indo-West Pacific and Atlantic regions.