The rare deep-sea shrimp Bitias brevis (Rathbun, 1906) (Decapoda: Pandalidae) from the western Pacific

Abstract

During recent deep-sea expeditions in Taiwan, Japan and New Caledonia seven specimens were collected of the rare pandalid shrimp Bitias brevis (Rathbun, 1906), a species previously known from only two specimens. The studyof this new material showed that characters used in separating B. brevis from its sole congeneric species, B. stocki Fransen, 1990, are variable. This study provides additional information on this rare shrimp, including coloration.