The first deep-sea hydrothermal animal reported from taiwan: Shinkaia crosnieri Baba and Williams, 1998 (Crustacea : Decapoda : Galatheidae)

A deep-sea hydrothermal organism is reported for the first time from the co ast of Taiwan. The species, Shinkaia crosnieri Baba and Williams, 1998, is a galatheid crab of the recently described subfamily Shinkaiinae Baba and W illiams, 1998, previously known only from the Bismarck Archipelago and Mid- Okinawa Trough in Japan. Two specimens of this species were collected off n ortheastern Taiwan at a depth of about 1200 m from the southern end of the Okinawa Trough. S. crosnieri has been reported to form dense aggregations i n hydrothermally active areas and one of the Taiwanese specimens has the la rgest size known for this species.