Luckia is a genus of amphipod crustaceans in the family Pontogeneiidae, with the sole species Luckia striki.[1] It is found in hydrothermal vents in the Atlantic Ocean.[2]
Luckia have compressed bodies and short rostra. Hatchlings are around 1.5mm long. Adult females measure approximately 8mm, the length of their first antenna; the second antenna is about half that length. Their body is smooth, and they have no eyes. The joints are slender and linear, with a cleft triangular telson. Their flagella have two parts, and their labrum is whole, with triturative molars. The outer rami are shorter than the inner ones, and they have a smooth third epimeral plate.[3]
L. striki are found in hydrothermal vents in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, between depths of 1670m (5,480feet) and 2250m (7,380feet), in temperatures around 4.26C.[4] [5] [6] The species has been found in the Lucky Strike site (37.2833°N -48°W), over the Rainbow Hydrothermal Field (36.2333°N -87°W), and at the Menez Gwen field (37.8333°N -62°W).[7]
Amphipods are more common in Pacific hydrothermal vents than in Atlantic ones, and before 1996, only two species, Andaniotes ingens and Hirondellea brevicaudata were known to exist in the Atlantic.[8] The genus was discovered by Denise Bellan-Santini and Michael H. Thurston in 1996, when it was collected in a vent along with shrimps, gastropods, crabs, and limpets at the Lucky Strike site above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge,[8] [5] the species's namesake.[9]