First record and distributional extension to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) of the slipper lobster Scyllarides haanii (Crustacea, Decapoda, Scyllaridae)

A male specimen of the Aesop slipper lobster Scyllarides haanii was found in the coastal vicinity of Ahu Tongariki (27 degrees 07'33 '' S, 109 degrees 16'37 '' W), Rapa Nui. Its taxonomic determination was carried out by a detailed morphological examination and a DNA barcoding identification analysis by sequencing the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) gene. S. haanii has a wide geographic distribution with occasional presence from the Indo-Pacific to the Hawaiian Archipelago, including the Red Sea, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Reunion, and French Polynesia; from 10 to 135 m of depth, preferably on rocky bottoms. This record extends the geographical distribution of S. haanii to Rapa Nui. It increases to five the species number of marine lobsters present on the island: a Palinuridae, Panulirus pascuensis and four Scyllaridae, Parribacus perlatus, Arctides regalis, Scyllarides roggevenni, and now S. haanii. This finding derived from the local initiative Pilotos to promote the sustainable management of coastal species, led by the Rapa Nui Sea Council (Koro Nui o te Vaikava), the elected authority in charge of the co-administration of Multiple Uses Marine Protected Area (MUMPA). The specimen will be deposited in the Crustacean Collection of the MNHNCL: accession number in GenBank (MW699539.1).

Automated summary

A specimen of Scyllarides haanii, a species of slipper lobster, was found in the coastal vicinity of Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui. The taxonomic determination was conducted through morphological examination and DNA barcoding analysis. This finding extends the geographic distribution of S. haanii to Rapa Nui and increases the total number of marine lobster species on the island to five.