Annotated checklist of marine Algerian Crustacean Decapods

International audienceSampling surveys (1976-2013) of soft-bottom communities and some hard bottom communities along the Algerian coast (1,180 km) have allowed the collection of 114 species of crustacean decapods of which of 37 were reported for the first time for the Algerian decapods fauna; for these species additional comments concerning their ecological and geographical patterns are given. The inventory of all benthic and pelagic decapods recorded along the Algerian coast reaches 253 species. Three families on a total of 57 families were highly diversified: Paguridae (17 species), Polybiidae (16 species) and Processidae (13 species). The presence of the 253 recorded species along the Algerian coast has been compared with eight other areas from the Mediterranean Sea. The decapods fauna of the Algerian coast is among the most richest of the Mediterranean Sea and comparable of that of Italy