Gandalfus puia
species of crustacean
Gandalfus puia is the only known New Zealand species of crab in the family Bythograeidae, commonly known as the blind vent crabs. Like other blind vent crabs, it only lives in hydrothermal vent waters. This species was first described in 2007 after specimens were collected from the undersea volcanic ridge near the Kermadec Islands.
Description
The current description for Gandalfus puia is based on six specimens collected in 2005.
This crab is characterised by a flat, elliptical carapace that is wider than it is long. Both males and females have dimorphic chelipeds: the right cheliped is stouter than the left, suggesting that it is used for crushing while the left is used for cutting. Adults have vestigial eyes, with immovable eyestalks and unpigmented corneas. Reduced eyes are typical for the family Bythograeidae family, probably from the ancestor of this group colonising the dark deep ocean. Adults are pale yellow, darker brown along their legs and setae, but because they live next to mineral-rich hydrothermal vent waters they are often coated with rusty ferric precipitate.
Distribution
Gandalfus puia was first discovered along submarine volcanoes near the Kermadec Islands, making it the southernmost bythograeid recorded.
The public source identifies “Gandalfus puia” as species of crustacean. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Gandalfus, puia and species.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q13639682. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2007 and 2005.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gandalfus puia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.