Scyllarides is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of slipper lobster

Slipper lobster

Slipper lobsters are a family of decapod crustaceans found in all warm oceans and seas. Despite their name, they are not true lobsters, but are more closely related to spiny lobsters and furry lobsters. Slipper lobsters are instantly recognisable by their enlarged antennae, which project forward...

s.

Characteristics

Scyllarides is placed in the subfamily Arctidinae, which is differentiated from other subfamilies by the presence of multiarticulated exopods on all three maxillipeds, and a three-segmented palp on the mandible

Mandible (arthropod)

thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...

. The only other genus in the subfamily, Arctides

Arctides

Arctides is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing three species. The largest of these, A. antipodarum, has a carapace up to long, and is found off south-eastern Australia and parts of New Zealand. The other two species are smaller, at up to carapace length; A. guineensis is found in an area...

, is distinguished by having a more highly sculptured carapace, with an extra spine behind each eye, and a transverse groove on the first segment of the abdomen.

Taxonomic history

In 1849, Wilhem de Haan

Wilhem de Haan

Wilhem de Haan was a Dutch zoologist. He specialised in the study of insects and crustaceans, and was the first keeper of invertebrates at the Rijksmuseum in Leiden, now Naturalis. He was forced to retire in 1846, when he was partially paralysed by a spinal disease...

 divided the genus Scyllarus

Scyllarus

Scyllarus is a genus of slipper lobsters, containing the following species:*Scyllarus americanus *Scyllarus arctus *Scyllarus caparti Holthuis, 1952*Scyllarus chacei Holthuis, 1960...

into two genera, Scyllarus and Arctus, but made the error of including the type species

Type species

In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...

 of Scyllarus in the genus Arctus. This was first recognised by the ichthyologist Theodore Gill

Theodore Gill

Theodore Nicholas Gill was an American ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history. He was associated with J...

 in 1898, who synonymised

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 Arctus with Scyllarus, and erected a new genus Scyllarides

Scyllarides

Scyllarides is a genus of slipper lobsters.-Characteristics:Scyllarides is placed in the subfamily Arctidinae, which is differentiated from other subfamilies by the presence of multiarticulated exopods on all three maxillipeds, and a three-segmented palp on the mandible...

to hold the species that De Haan had placed in Scyllarus.

Species

Scyllarides comprises the following extant species:

• Scyllarides aequinoctialis
  Scyllarides aequinoctialis
  Scyllarides aequinoctialis is a species of slipper lobster that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean from South Carolina to São Paulo State, Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Bermuda. It grows up to long, with a carapace long. S...
  
  (Lund, 1793)
• Scyllarides astori Holthuis, 1960
• Scyllarides brasiliensis Rathbun, 1906
• Scyllarides deceptor Holthuis, 1963
• Scyllarides delfosi Holthuis, 1960
• Scyllarides elisabethae (Ortmann, 1894)
• Scyllarides haanii (De Haan, 1841)
• Scyllarides herklotsii
  Scyllarides herklotsii
  Scyllarides herklotsii is a species of slipper lobster from the Atlantic coast West Africa. It is edible, but is not commercially fished, and is taken only by accident....
  
  (Herklots, 1851)
• Scyllarides latus
  Scyllarides latus
  Scyllarides latus, the Mediterranean slipper lobster, is a species of slipper lobster found in the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is edible and highly regarded as food, but is now rare over much of its range due to overfishing. Adults may grow to long, are camouflaged, and...
  
  (Latreille, 1802)
• Scyllarides nodifer (Stimpson, 1866)
• Scyllarides obtusus Holthuis, 1993 
• Scyllarides roggeveeni Holthuis, 1967
• Scyllarides squammosus (H. Milne-Edwards, 1837)
• Scyllarides tridacnophaga Holthuis, 1967

In addition, two species of Scyllarides are known from the Eocene

Eocene

The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...

 of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

:

• Scyllarides bolcensis de Angeli & Garassino, 2008 
• Scyllarides tuberculatus (König, 1825)