Deep water bug

Ibacus alticrenatus

Crustaceans
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth141–963 m
Water temperature8–28 °C
Best monthsMarch, April, and December
How commonOccasional

All species

About this species

Ibacus alticrenatus is a species of slipper lobster that lives in the waters of Australia and New Zealand.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ibacus alticrenatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 17 records
February: 6 records
March: 36 records
April: 31 records
May: 10 records
June: 10 records
July: 6 records
August: 15 records
September: 25 records
October: 14 records
November: 18 records
December: 31 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 141–963 m · Deepest record: 1,395.5 m

20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 5 records
110–120 m: 10 records
120–130 m: 18 records
130+ m: 754 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–28 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 6 records
10–12 °C: 3 records
12–14 °C: 18 records
14–16 °C: 413 records
16–18 °C: 285 records
18–20 °C: 42 records
20–22 °C: 35 records
22–24 °C: 13 records
24–26 °C: 30 records
26–28 °C: 4 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Deep water bug, Prawn killer, Sandy bug, Velvet fan lobster, deep water bug, prawn killer, sandy bug, velvet fan lobster

Other scientific names: Ibaccus alticrenatus

Similar species

Balmain bug
Ibacus peronii
Japanese fan lobster
Ibacus ciliatus
Digging lobster
Ibacus novemdentatus
Serrate fan lobster
Ibacus brevipes
Glabrous fan lobster
Ibacus brucei
Ibacus chacei

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,062 open-data records from 1907 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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