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Polychelidae
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Polychelidae

crustacean family
Also known as: deep-sea lobster
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Quick Summary

The Polychelidae are a family of deep-sea lobsters, characterized by their soft bodies, weak musculature, and the presence of claws. They are part of the order Decapoda within the phylum Arthropoda.1

These crustaceans are benthic, meaning they live on the seafloor, and are mostly nocturnal. Their diet consists of scavenged dead animals, as well as live fish, small mollusks, other invertebrates, and seaweed. While some lobster species are commercially important as food, the Polychelidae are not among them.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. lobster
  2. annelid - Annotated classification
  3. annelid - Behaviour and associations.

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