Erstnachweis vonPolycheles typhlops (Decapoda reptantia) für isländische Gewässer

Abstract

During the ICNAF “NORWESTLANT SURVEY 2”, June 1963, two femalePolycheles typhlops Heller 1862, 10 and 12 cm long respectively, were caught with an otter trawl off the southwest coast of Iceland at a depht of 450 m. Up to now this species has only been known to inhabit the abyssal regions in the moderate and warm areas of the Atlantic Ocean (including the Mediterranean) and the Indian Ocean. Our specimens are the first of this species to be found in boreal waters; its distribution seems therefore to be wider than hitherto assumed. Since juvenile stages, previously described as a distinct crustacean species,Eryoneicus puritani, are occasionally found in plankton catches of the central North Atlantic, there is no doubt that this species is native to these waters and does not occure by chance in this area. A list of previous records of its occurrence, probably not complete, is given in Table 1.

Zusammenfassung

1. Das Vorkommen vonPolycheles typhlops in den borealen isländischen Gewässern wird erstmals nachgewiesen.

2. Eine typische, bei anderen Dekapoden nicht beobachtete Scherenhaltung konnte bei den im Aquarium gehaltenen Tieren festgestellt werden; sie kann mit der Lebensweise der Tiere in Verbindung gebracht werden.