A new species of spider crab is described from two male specimens collected from the southeastern Arabian Sea. This species differs from its congeners in the absence of uograstric granule on carapace, the presence of two granules along lateral margin of carapace at branchial region, the presence of granules on P2–P4 dactyli and the constricted distal tip of the male first gonopod.
A new species of white-spotted moray eel Gymnothorax smithi sp. nov. is described based on three specimens collected from the southeastern Arabian Sea, India. This is the first deep water report of a moray eel from Indian waters from 200 m depth. This new species is distinguishable from its congeners by the following combination of characters: greyish brown body overlain with white spots of irregular shape, dorsal-fin origin anterior to gill opening, anus positioned slightly behind the mid-point of the body, serrated teeth and a unique vertebral count 3–5 /57/130–132. [Zoobank URL: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:9554CE07-E9E7-4B4F-95CD-54F2BB26FF28]
Symphysanodon xanthopterygion, new species, reported herein from 15 specimens collected near Quilon, India, off the Kerala Coast in the southeastern Arabian Sea, becomes the twelfth described species in the genus. The following characters in combination distinguish S. xanthopterygion from its congeners: parapophyses present on first caudal vertebra, total number of gillrakers on first arch 38 to 42, tubed lateral-line scales 54 to 59, sum of lateral-line scales plus total number of gillrakers in individual specimens 94 to 101, head length 33 to 37% SL, head depth 18 to 21% SL, snout length 5 to 6% SL, body depth 24 to 27% SL, lower caudal-fin lobe bright yellow.
A new species of the squat lobster genus Eumunida Smith, 1883 (Chirostyloidea: Eumunididae), E. multispina, is described and illustrated primarily on the basis of two male specimens from the Arabian Sea off the Kerala State, southwestern India, at depths of 250–400 m. One specimen from Lakshadweep, previously identified with E. funambulus Gordon, 1930, is also referred to the new species. The new species is morphologically most similar to E. funambulus among the 29 known congeners, but the presence of four epigastric spines and more numerous lateral spines on the carapace (four on the anterolateral and seven to 10 on the branchial margins) immediately distinguish the new species from E. funambulus. Genetic analysis using the mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA markers also indicates that the new species is distinct from congenerics for which the sequence data are available.
The inachid spider crab genus, Parapleisticantha Yokoya, 1933 [type species: Parapleisticantha japonica Yokoya, 1933] is removed from the synonymy of Pleistacantha Miers, 1879 [type species: Pleistacantha sanctijohannis Miers, 1879], and recognised as a valid genus. Parapleisticantha differs from Pleistacantha sensu stricto primarily by having a less spiny carapace, stouter and more inflated male chelipeds, and by lacking a slender subdistal process on the male first gonopod. We redescribe Parapleisticantha japonica based on the Japanese type material and describe as new a second species, Parapleisticantha ludivinae n. sp., recently discovered in thePhilippines.
Recent collections of deep-sea majid crabs from the South Pacific Ocean and Taiwan provide new records of five species of Cyrtomaia Miers, 1886, and a new species from French Polynesia, C. polynesica n. sp. The news species is most similar to the recently described C. micronesica Richer de Forges & Ng, 2007, but differs from this species in the morphology of its carapace and pereopods.
A new species of the deep-water king-crab genus Neolithodes A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1894 (Anomura: Lithodidae) is described herein from the southeastern Arabian Sea (1064–1338 m depth). Neolithodes indicus sp. nov. shows morphological proximity with three congeneric species, N. brodiei Dawson & Yaldwyn, 1970, N. flindersi Ahyong, 2010a and N. nipponensis Sakai, 1971 in bearing less numerous secondary spines on the carapace, the dactylus of the chelipeds with a convex dorsal margin and dorsoventrally compressed meri of the pereopods 2–4. The new species can be easily distinguished from these congeners in possessing the less densely spinulose carapace and appendages, short rostrum, simple antennal scaphocerite, the absence of large spines on the flexor margins of the pereopods 2–3 meri, and a stouter pereopod 4 propodus.
A new species of the perciform fish genus Symphysanodon (Symphysanodontidae) from the Arabian Sea off the southwestern coast of India