Treasure of the month
June 2017
Caribbean crab
Externally, it resembles a swimming centipede; however, in terms of evolutionary biology, it is the closest relative of all insects. The treasure of the month June belongs to the crayfish group of Remipedia. It is the type specimen to Morlockia emersoni and comes from the Dominican Republic.
The Remipedia are highly specialized and are found exclusively in caves with direct access to the sea. Because of this way of life they were discovered only in 1981. In total, only 27 species of this crayfish group have been described, with the majority of species originating from the Caribbean.