Elasmopus rapax

About Elasmopus rapax

Elasmopus rapax is an amphipod crustacean in the family Maeridae. Its current scientific name is cited as Elasmopus rapax A. Costa, 1853. Published sources characterize its origin status as Introduced. Published Kauaʻi evidence documents the species from Nawiliwili reef (Marriott Hotel reef) and Port Allen 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.