Gandalfus yunohana

Gandalfus yunohana is a species of blind crab in the family Bythograeidae found on hydrothermal vents on the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea Plate south of Japan. Because no light penetrates to such depths, the eyes of G. yunohana are immobile and unpigmented.

Gandalfus yunohana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Decapoda
Suborder:	Pleocyemata
Infraorder:	Brachyura
Family:	Bythograeidae
Genus:	Gandalfus
Species:	G. yunohana
Binomial name
Gandalfus yunohana (Takeda, Hashimoto & Ohta, 2000)
Synonyms
Austinograea yunohana Takeda, Hashimoto & Ohta, 2000

Description

Males have a carapace up to 41.9 mm × 26.9 mm (1.6 in × 1.1 in) across, while females are larger, at 50.5 mm × 32.5 mm (2.0 in × 1.3 in).^[1] The eyes are immobile and unpigmented.^[1]

Taxonomy and etymology

The species was originally described as Austinograea yunohana in 2000.^[2] It was transferred in 2007 by New Zealand marine biologist and carcinologist Colin McLay to his new genus, Gandalfus, named after the character Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.^[1]

Distribution

Gandalfus zunohana is found on hydrothermal vents on the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea Plate south of Japan.^[2] It lives at shallower depths than other members of the family Bythograeidae, at 420–1,380 m (1,380–4,530 ft).^[1]

References

1. Colin McLay (2007). "New crabs from hydrothermal vents of the Kermadec Ridge submarine volcanoes, New Zealand: Gandalfus gen. nov. (Bythograeidae) and Xenograpsus (Varunidae) (Decapoda: Brachyura)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1524: 1–22.
2. Takeda, Masatsune; Hashimoto, Jun; Ohta, S. (2000). "A New Species of the Family Bythograidae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Hydrothermal Vents along Volcanic Front of the Philippine Sea Plate, フィリピン海プレート東縁の熱水噴出域より得られたユノハナガニ科の新種". Bulletin of the National Science Museum. Series A: Zoology (in Japanese). 26 (4): 159–172.