Speleonectes atlantida

Speleonectes atlantida

During a cave diving expedition to explore the Tunnel de la Atlantida, the world's longest submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, a team of scientists and cave divers have discovered a previously unknown species of crustacean, belonging to the remipede genus Speleonectes.
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"A previously unknown species of an eyeless crustacean was discovered lurking inside a lava tube beneath the seafloor.

The creature, named Speleonectes atlantida, lives in the Tunnel de la Atlantida, the world's longest submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands off the western coast of northern Africa. The discovery, which has implications for the evolution of an ancient group of crustaceans, will be detailed in September in a special issue of the journal Marine Biodiversity.

While in the cave, the international team of scientists and cave divers also discovered two previously unknown species of annelid worms."

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Atlantida tunel, Lanzarote, Canary Islands

1. Koenemann et al. A new, disjunct species of Speleonectes (Remipedia, Crustacea) from the Canary Islands. Marine Biodiversity, 2009; DOI: 10.1007/s12526-009-0021-8