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REGAL SLIPPER LOBSTER ??? ula-papapa
Arctides regalis Holthuis, 1963
Family Scyllaridae
Before the advent of scuba this colorful and rather common lobster was considered rare. The antennae consist of flattened gray-blue plates, bright red at the periphery and equipped with a few forward-pointing, yellow-tipped spines. The rough gray carapace is covered with tubercles, some tipped with red or yellow. The beautifully sculptured tail segments are primarily orange-red. The legs are banded yellow and orange. Although appearance alone might justify the name "regal," the species is named for Mary Eleanore King, a passionate shell collector active for many years in Honolulu. "Mariel" King sponsored a number of scientific expeditions in her research vessel Pele, making substantial contributions to Pacific marine zoology. The first scientific specimen of this lobster was collected near Moku o Lo`e (Coconut Island), Kane`ohe Bay, O`ahu. Known also from Easter Island, New Caledonia, and R??union, it appears to prefer cooler waters at the edges of the tropics (a pattern of distribution common to many Hawaiian marine animals and known as "antitropical"). To about 7 in. Indo-Pacific. |
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