Final-stage phyllosoma of Palinustus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Achelata: Palinuridae)-The first complete description

Four rare palinurid phyllosoma larvae, one mid-stage and three final stage, were found among the unclassified collections in the Crustacea Section, Natural History Museum, London. Detailed morphological analysis of the larvae indicated that they belong to several Palinustus species given the presence of incipient blunt-horns, length of antennula, length ratio of segments of antennular peduncle, distribution of pereiopod spines, and shape of uropods and telson. Moreover, the size of the final-stage larvae agrees with that expected given the size of the recently described puerulus stage of Palinustus mossambicus. This constitutes the first description of a complete phyllosoma assigned to Palinustus species. The phyllosoma described in the present study include the largest Palinuridae larva ever found.