Metanephrops is a genus of lobsters, commonly known as scampi. Important species for fishery include Metanephrops australiensis (Australian scampi) and Metanephrops challengeri (New Zealand scampi). It differs from other lobsters such as Homarus and Nephrops norvegicus in that its two main claws are of equal size, rather than being differentiated into a crusher and a pincher.[1] There are 18 extant species recognised in the genus:[2]
Metanephrops inhabit burrows located in sticky soft substrate that they build themselves.[5] They typically live at depths ranging between 50-994m below the surface of the ocean, but are found in greater abundances at 150m or deeper.[4] This classifies them as a "deep sea lobster" since they inhabit a region below 50m under the surface of the ocean.[6] Occurrences of Metanephrops are prevalent on the west side of ocean basins, especially the Indo-West-Pacific, ranging from latitudes of 35∘N to 50∘S. Only two of the extant species of Metanephrops inhabit the western basin of the Atlantic Ocean. M. binghami resides in the Gulf of Mexico and around the Caribbean and Cuba; while M. rubellus resides off of the southern coast of Brazil and off the coast of Uruguay.[4]
Metanephrops are scavengers like most lobsters. They consume a diet largely consisting of the corpses pelagic and benthic species that have fallen to the sea floor. Specific examples of their typical diet include small marine organisms such as plankton and parasites, ghost shark (Hydrolagus novaezealandiae), silver warehou (Seriolella punctata), tall sea pen (Funiculina quadrangularis) and the salp (Ihlea racovitzai).[6]
The unique reproductive habits of Metanephrops are poorly understood due to the difficulty of getting individuals of Metanephrops to mate in captivity. However, their mating habits appear to follow that of most genera of lobster, with copulation occurring after a female moults. Successful instances of copulation were observed to occur when the male was larger and stronger than the female and was able to turn the female over and pin her down in order for copulation to occur. In one study, viable eggs were produced 3 days following an instance where sperm uptake was successful after copulation. However, the eggs did not hatch for another 222 days, meaning that the total time from spawning to hatch was 225 days.[7]