Galearctus avulsus
Galearctus avulsus is a species of slipper lobster that lives around New Caledonia. It was described in 2011, having previously been included in "Galearctus kitanovirosus". It differs from the other species of the genus "Galearctus" most noticeably in the shape of a groove on the sternum. Description. "Galearctus avulsus" is a small slipper lobster, with a carapace around long, including the rostrum. It differs from the other species in the genus "Galearctus" by the shape of the groove on the midline of the sternum between the first pair of pereiopods. In the other species, this groove is narrow , but in "G. avulsus", it widens and appears as if "torn away". Distribution and conservation. "Galearctus avulsus" lives in the waters around New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Islands, at depths of . It may also occur around Fiji. Although "G. avulsus" is very poorly known, it has a large range and no apparent threats, and is therefore listed as being of "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List. Taxonomic history. In 1962, Harada described a new species of slipper lobster, ""Scyllarus kitanoviriosus"" from shallow water (less than deep) around Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In 2002, Lipke Holthuis revised the Indo-Pacific  slipper lobsters, erecting a new genus, "Galearctus" for ""S. kitanoviriosus"" and its nearest relatives. At the same time, Holthuis added records of "G. kitanoviriosus" from deeper waters in the South Pacific. Re-examination of the specimens from the two parts of the range by Chien-Hui Yang, I-Shiung Chen and Tin-Yam Chan from National Taiwan Ocean University revealed constant differences between the two groups. Since the type material of "G. kitanoviriosus" was from the northern part of the range, they described the southern populations as a new species, "G. avulsus"; the specific epithet "" meaning "torn away", in reference  to the shape of the median groove on the first thoracic sternite. DNA sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase I gene suggests that the nearest relative of "G. avulsus" is not "G. kitanoviriosus" but "G. rapanus".