Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 13 [Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Volume 163]

The series Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM publishes reports and monographs on tropical deep-sea faunas, with emphasis on little-known regions of the Indo-Pacific. Other volumes in this series deal with echinoderms, ascidians, molluscs, fishes, sponges, bryozoans, hydroids, etc. The present volume (which is volume 163 in the parent series Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle) contains three major monographs on decapod Crustacea, on a worldwide basis. The diogenid hermit-crab genus Trizopagurus is characterized by a very remarkable stridulatory organ, composed of modified horny teeth or tubercles. The archaic crabs of the family Homolodromiidae are rare and small, having a decalcified and fragile test and this explains why this was one of the least known families of crabs. Conversely, the family Homolidae contains some spectacular bright red and very spiny species, and they are often figured in popular accounts of life in the deep sea. These thorough taxonomic revisions are based on an examination of all existing material available, including abundant new material from recent French and other expeditions in the Indo-Pacific. Altogether, six new genera and 38 new species are described. The volume is richly illustrated by drawings, photographs, and 4 colour plates. The text is in French throughout. The MUSORSTOM series is a joint program of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle and the Institut français de Recherche scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM).