Pleuroncodes monodon
# Pleuroncodes monodon

Pleuroncodes monodon, sometimes called the red squat lobster, is a species of squat lobster from the south-eastern Pacific Ocean, where it is the subject of commercial fishery alongside the species Cervimunida johni.

## Fishery

The fishery of P. monodon in Chile is divided into two areas, of which the southern unit is the more important. The artisanal fishery of P. monodon was banned in the southern unit for three years, from 1980 to 1982, in an attempt to restore the collapsing population. Afterwards, quotas were put in place to limit the fishery, although another three-year ban, was required from 1989 to 1991. Fishing for P. monodon has again resumed, but at far lower levels than before the initial regulation.

## Distribution

Pleuroncodes monodon is found from 41° S in Chile to 15° N in Mexico.

## Life cycle

Pleuroncodes monodon produces small eggs, in clutches of up to nearly 34,000; the larvae that hatch from them pass through five planktotrophic zoeal stages, over the course of around 55 days.

