FIRST REPORTS OF DEEP-WATER HERMIT CRABS PARAPAGURUS SMITH, 1879 (DECAPODA, PARAPAGURIDAE) AND COELENTERATE ASSOCIATES FROM THE MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE AND SOUTH ATLANTIC

Three species of deep water hermit crabs of the genus Parapagurus Smith, 1879, family Parapaguridae, were collected in the South Atlantic during studies of the fauna and ecology of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a seamount chain that is an important habitat, feeding ground, and site of reproduction for many open ocean and deep-sea species. The three species collected, P abyssorum (Filhol, 1885), P nudus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1891), and P pilosimanus Smith, 1879, are known to range broadly in the Atlantic, but only one, P. pilosimanus, was previously reported from the South Atlantic. Thus, P. abyssorum and P nudus arc reported for the first time from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the South Atlantic. These three species live in association with zoanthids or actinians that produce carcinoecia and serve as housing. The carcinoecia found with the specimens are also reported.