Nephrops is a genus of lobsters comprising a single extant species, Nephrops norvegicus (the Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prawn), and several fossil species. It was erected by William Elford Leach in 1814, to accommodate N. norvegicus alone, which had previously been placed in genera such as Cancer, Astacus or Homarus. Nephrops means "kidney eye" and refers to the shape of the animal's compound eye. Most of the fossil species assigned to the genus Nephrops are known only from partial remains, and their affinities are not certain. They include: