A new species of <i>Fizesereneia</i> Takeda & Tamura, 1980 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) from Japan

Abstract

A new species of pit crab of the genus Fizesereneia Takeda & Tamura, 1980, Fizesereneia daidai sp. nov., is described and illustrated based on specimens collected from the scleractinian corals Micromussa amakusensis and Micromussa sp. in Japan. The new species, the sixth assigned to the genus, can be separated from its congeners by having an orange posterior carapace in life, a subrectangular carapace, the width to length ratio of the carapace depressions being approximately three-halves, the midline of the carapace depression being almost invisible in lateral view, and the ocular peduncles being mostly exposed. The usefulness of the fusion or separation of the pterygostomial region to the carapace as a generic character is discussed.

<strong>A new species of <em>Fizesereneia</em> Takeda &amp; Tamura, 1980 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Cryptochiridae) from the Red Sea and Oman</strong>

“…In Fizesereneia heimi and F. stimpsoni the anterior carapace depression is divided into two concavities by a median longitudinal ridge armed with spines, whereas it is incompletely divided in F. latisella, F. ishikawai and F. tholia (Fize & Serène 1957, Takeda & Tamura 1980, Kropp 1994. The division of the depression in F. daidai is variable, but it is incomplete in most individuals (Zayasu et al 2013). The degree of division of the concavity is stronger in F. panda sp.…”

“…The chelipeds were drawn with the outer surface of the manus parallel to the plane of the paper, which somewhat distorts the other segments. The terms for carapace shape follow Zayasu et al (2013). Carapace lengths (CL) and widths (CW) were measured using an eyepiece micrometre.…”

“…Nha Trang, Vietnam Remarks. The genus Fizesereneia presently includes six species: Fizesereneia heimi (Fize & Serène, 1956), F. stimpsoni (Fize & Serène, 1956), F. ishikawai Takeda & Tamura, 1980, F. latisella Kropp, 1994, F. tholia Kropp, 1994, and the recently described F. daidai Zayasu, 2013. The location of the holotypes of Troglocarcinus heimi and T. stimpsoni are unknown according to Kropp (1990a).…”

“…nov. can be distinguished from F. stimpsoni by the marbled pattern of the concavities in the latter (visible even in specimens in ethanol). Additionally, F. stimpsoni has only been recorded from the coral genus Acanthastrea (Fize & Serène 1957;Zayasu et al 2013), whereas F. panda sp. nov. is associated with Lobophyllia and Symphyllia.…”

A New Host and Range Record for the Gall CrabFungicola fageias a Symbiont of the Mushroom CoralLobactis scutariain Hawai‘i

“…Cryptochirid crabs are small and live concealed inside their pits, and therefore they are usually not easily noticed ( Hoeksema 2017), except perhaps when they appear in extremely high densities . Recent research targeting coral gall crabs resulted in the discovery of a number of new species (Badaro et al 2012, Zayasu et al 2013, van der Meij 2014a, 2015b, 2017, van der Meij, Berumen, and Pauley 2015 and new host records (van der Meij 2012, 2014b. Likewise, recent surveys on mushroom coral hosts have also led to new discoveries of associated fauna, including some undescribed species, such as a benthic ctenophore , Alamaru et al 2016), a serpulid worm ( Hoeksema and ten Hove 2014), a hydroid (Montano Fransen, et al 2015; this study) and the known ranges of its host coral genera in the West and central Pacific ( Hoeksema 1989, Hoeksema and Dai 1991, Hoeksema and Benzoni 2013.…”