New record of the swimming crab Charybdis (Archias) hongkongensis Shen, 1934 (Brachyura, Portunidae) from India

Charybdis (Archias) hongkongensis Shen, 1934 was collected from the Indian coast of the Bay of Bengal and this is the first record from Indian waters. The distinct key characters of this species are: a relatively more produced last antero-lateral tooth, strongly convergent postero-lateral margins, and a smooth, rounded, reduced apex of the male first gonopod. This is the ninth member of Charybdis (Archias) Alcock, 1899 from Indian waters. The species is diagnosed and figured herein.

A new species of Neorhynchoplax Holthuis, 1968 (Brachyura, Hymenosomatidae) from West Bengal, India

The hymenosomatid crab Neorhynchoplax devroyi sp. nov. is described here from West Bengal in eastern India. The species is most similar to N. demeloi Kemp, 1917, described from Cochin in western India, but can easily be distinguished by its proportionately longer and more slender ambulatory legs, truncate cutting teeth on the chelipeds, relatively broader first pleonal somite and the distal part of the male first gonopod being stout and short. Ten species of Neorhynchoplax Holthuis, 1968, are now known from Indian waters.

Confirmation of pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps from Palk Bay, India through Cytochrome Oxidase1 (COI) sequence

The identity of a stranded cetacean from the Palk Bay has been confirmed as a pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) by the partial sequencing of mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit-I (COI). The specimen was unambiguously discriminated from the COI sequence of Kogia sima by matching exactly with the sequence of K. breviceps. Stranding events of the pygmy whales are considered to be uncommon. The sequence developed for K. breviceps is the first of its kind attempt from Indian waters.

New records for associations between peritrich protozoan ciliates (Ciliophora, Sessilida) and polychaete worms (Annelida) from off the southeastern coast of India

We report herein three epibiotic associations between peritrich ciliate protozoans and polychaete worms, as observed in Tamilnadu, southeastern coast of India. Epibiont ciliates Epistylis sp.1 were found all over the integument of individuals of the terebellid polychaete Terebella sp., collected from Vellar estuary. Epistylis sp.2 ciliates were observed attached to Namalycastis abiuma polychaetes, on both sides of parapodia. Cothurnia sp. ciliates were found on anterior most paleae and hooks of Sabellaria sp. polychaetes, both latter associations from material from the Uppanar estuary. Those epibiont/basibiont associations are all new to science and discussed herein, together with a review on the previous reports of epibiont ciliate protozoans in Indian waters.

First records of two species of reef-associated mantis shrimps (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from India

The coastal marine environments in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone harbour a rich diversity of mantis shrimps. However, several regions have not been adequately surveyed for their stomatopod faunal composition. In this paper, we report the first records of two species, Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902) and Cloridina malaccensis (Manning, 1968) from Indian waters. Samples were collected using a chain dredge deployed by the Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel Sagar Sampada on the shallow reefs (53–56 m depths) of the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal during August–November 2019. Gonodactylopsis drepanophora was previously known only from Indonesia, and Cloridina malaccensis from Southeast Asia, New Caledonia and Madagascar.