| Lucifer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lucifer typus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Dendrobranchiata |
| Family: | Luciferidae |
| Genus: | Lucifer J. V. Thompson, 1829 |
| Type species | |
| Lucifer typus H. Milne-Edwards, 1837 | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Leucifer | |
Lucifer is a little-known and degenerate genus of prawns, the type genus of the family Luciferidae. [2] Lucifer has a long body, but many fewer appendages than other prawns, with only three pairs of pereiopods remaining, all without claws. It also bears no gills. [3] The females, uniquely among prawns, carry the fertilised eggs on her pleopods until they are ready to hatch. This parallels the development of a similar system in pleocyemates, although the attachment is less strong in Lucifer. [3] The length of the eye-stalks and the form of the petasma has been used in distinguishing the species, including before some were later moved into another genus Belzebub .
The name Lucifer is Latin for "light bearer" was given to the genus because of these prawns' bioluminescence. [4]
Two species are recognised:
- Lucifer orientalis Hansen, 1919
- Lucifer typus H. Milne-Edwards, 1837
Five nominal Lucifer species (L. chacei, L. faxoni, L. hanseni, L. intermedius, and L. penicillifer) have been reclassified in a distinct genus, Belzebub . [4]
