Gothus teemo

Gothus teemo is a crab species that serves as the type species for the genus Gothus. Discovered in 2024 from specimens collected in the South China Sea, it holds the distinction of being the first animal named after a character from the video game League of Legends. Its scientific name combines Gothus, referencing the board game Go (due to the crab's carapace patterns and granules resembling a Go board and stones), with the common xanthid genus suffix -thus, and teemo, after the game's raccoon-inspired champion Teemo. The crab’s small size, brown stripes, and dense covering of setae (hair-like structures) were likened to the character’s short stature and fluffy brown-and-white fur coat.

This crab is tiny, with all known specimens measuring under 1 cm in carapace width; the holotype is just 3.7 mm. Its body ranges from white to coral pink, with symmetrical brown to black stripes on the carapace, legs, and chelipeds. The chelipeds have red anterior carpi and brown to black fingers. The carapace, covered in small round granules, is about one and a half times longer than wide and divided into two triangular lobes by a V-shaped notch. Dense short setae give the crab a fluffy appearance.

As the type species of Gothus, G. teemo forms a clade with its only other known species, Gothus consobrinus, in all phylogenetic analyses. It differs from G. consobrinus by having more pronounced carapace regions with tufts of setae and a fully reduced first tooth on the carapace margin. The genus belongs to the family Xanthidae, though its exact placement within the family remains uncertain.

The species inhabits crevices inside shallow coral reefs. Specimens have been found at Triton Island in the Paracel Islands and Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, both in the South China Sea.