THALASSINIDEA LATREILLE, 1831

Martin, Joel W. & Haney, Todd A., 2005, Decapod crustaceans from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: a review through 2005, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145 (4), pp. 445-522 : 500

INFRAORDER THALASSINIDEA LATREILLE, 1831

At least three different thalassinidean species are known from cold brine or methane seeps in the northern Gulf of Mexico, all from sites off Louisiana (D. L. Felder, pers. comm.). To date, there is at least one member of the Callianassidae (an undescribed genus), one member of the Axiidae (a species of the genus Calaxiu s recently described by Felder & Kensley, 2004) and one member of the Calocarididae (an undescribed species) (D. Felder, pers. comm.). Bergquist et al. (2003) also listed a species of Calaxius from a collection at Bush Hill (northern Gulf of Mexico). Dando, Huges & Thiermann (1995) reported Callianassa truncata from shallow vents in the Aegean Sea. Because of the comparative difficulty in collecting burrowing organisms in the deep sea, it is not surprising that few have been collected or seen to date, and it is highly likely that more thalassinideans will be found eventually at other seep and vent sites.