First record of shallow-water swimming crab from Indian waters

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca Latreille, 1802

Order: Decapoda Latreille, 1802

Family: Portunidae Rafinesque, 1815

Thalamita malaccensis Gordon, 1938

Collection: Arabian Sea, northwest off Ratnagiri – 17.46°N, 71.82°E, 97 m, 23.11.2018 (FORVSS 378 St. 05), Naturalist’s dredge

Voucher No.: CMLRE IO/SS/ANO/00214

Description: Small portunid crab possessing hexagonal carapace with gently convex dorsal surface, only mesogastric, metagastric and epibranchial ridges faintly discernible; frontal margin with 4 lobes, medians narrower than submedians; anterolateral teeth 5, fourth smallest, last directed anterolaterally. Lateral angle of basal antennal segment extending into orbital hiatus. Mxp3 merus anterolateral angle rounded. Cheliped with squamiform margins; merus with anterior 3 spines; propodus dorsal surface with 5 spines; fingers as long as palm. P5 merus with large posterior spine, propodus posterior margin microscopically serrated.

Biological association: None.

Remarks: First record of Thalamita malaccensis Gordon, 1938 from Indian EEZ.

Distribution: Malacca Strait (type locality), Java Sea and Bay of Bengal. Depth range: 60–97 m.

Distribution map:

Identified by: Vinay Padate

Publication: Cubelio S.S., Vishnu K.V., Subi S., Ameri S., Padate V.P., Takeda M. (2023) Morphological and molecular systematics of swimming crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) from India collected on-board the FORV Sagar Sampada (cruise no. 378, 385 and 392), with notes on biogeography of the Indian portunid fauna. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 62: 102879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.102879

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