On the reproductive biology of the deep-sea lobster, Polycheles typhlops (Decapoda, Palinura, Polychelidae), from the central-western Mediterranean

Data are provided related to the reproductive biology of a deep-sea lobster, Polycheles typhlops, caught in Sardinian waters between 400 and 1400 m depth. Analyses were performed on 1180 females and 935 males. In both sexes, the carapace length decreased markedly and regularly with increasing depth; the females proved to be prevalent at greater bathymetric depths. The temporal evolution of the gonadosomatic index, and of the percentage distribution of the various stages of ovarian development, did not reveal any clear seasonality in reproduction for the species.