A new species of the genus Petrolisthes Stimpson (Crustacea, Decapoda, Porcellanidae) from the Central Pacific, with remarks and new records for P. aegyptiacus Werding & Hiller

• Main Authors: Alexandra Hiller, Bernd Werding
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pensoft Publishers 2016-09-01
• Series: ZooKeys
• Online Access: http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=9893

Petrolisthes paulayi sp. n. is described from specimens collected in French Polynesia. The new species belongs to an assemblage of morphologically similar Indo-West Pacific (IWP) species, here designated as the “mesobranchial-spine group”. All species in the group bear carapace spines, including one or more mesobranchial spines, and transverse, piliferous striations on the dorsal surface of carapace and chelipeds. Petrolisthes paulayi sp. n. is distinguishable from all species in the group by its forwardly produced, trilobate front, and a characteristic combination of carapace spines. We also report on the range extension and live coloration of P. aegyptiacus Werding & Hiller, another species of the mesobranchial-spine group, so far considered a Red Sea endemic. Specimens from the Mascaréne Islands confirm that the geographic range of the species extends to the southern Indian Ocean. While specimens morphologically similar to P. aegyptiacus, and collected in the Line and Society Islands, suggest a large range extension to the Central Pacific, it is probable that these individuals represent an undescribed species closely related to P. aegyptiacus.