Les Crustacés décapodes des Petites Antilles: Avec de nouvelles observations pour Saint-Martin, la Guadeloupe et la Martinique

The Lesser Antilles are an almost homogeneous insular region situated at the core of the Caribbean, identified as a remarkably rich biodiversity hotspot of the western Atlantic. Featuring a total of more than one thousand crustacean species, Les Crustacés décapodes des Petites Antilles presents for the first time the documented inventory of the shrimps, lobsters, hermit crabs, and crabs of the region. This French-language inventory is based on a literature search of roughly six-hundred scientific contributions published over more than two centuries and integrates American, French, Dutch, and Venezuelan research efforts. Also included are some unpublished data from recent expeditions to the French islands of Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. Readers will find an up-to-date list of the species that both complies with the latest taxonomic revisions and supplies the source of each record. An analysis of the list provides: a sampling history of the islands; the result of the inventory presented by families, islands, and archipelagos; documentation of the major ecological habitats; a zoogeographic appraisal distinguishing marine and freshwater fauna; and the prospects for new discoveries of undescribed species. This work illustrates many species in color, with photographs taken in the laboratory and in the field.