Acantholobulus pacificus

About Acantholobulus pacificus

Acantholobulus pacificus is a decapod crustacean in the family Panopeidae. Its current scientific name is cited as Acantholobulus pacificus (Edmondson, 1931). Published sources characterize its origin status as Introduced. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Nawiliwili reef (Marriott Hotel reef). The cited evidence includes records dated or referenced to 2002. Evidence types include survey observation. These records establish a documented Kauaʻi occurrence but are not automatically interpreted as a present-day abundance estimate. The documented Kauaʻi habitat context includes nearshore reef. Current island persistence, abundance, and population trend were not established by the occurrence material used for this record. The available Kauaʻi evidence does not support adding island-specific claims about diet, reproduction, behavior, population size, or trend unless those points are stated in the cited sources, so they are not inferred here. Keeping the accepted taxonomic concept together with the dated occurrence evidence allows later surveys to distinguish historical documentation from contemporary status.

The species was originally described as Panopeus pacificus; the accepted combination is now Acantholobulus pacificus. Keeping both names with the record connects older Hawaiian literature to the current taxonomic name. A published report documented three specimens from the subtidal Port of Yokohama in Tokyo Bay and treated their presence as an introduction. That Japanese record provides wider distributional context; it does not establish a transport route to Kauaʻi or demonstrate an ecological impact on the island.