New species of deep-water spider crab from Arabian Sea

Crocydocinus saravananei

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca Latreille, 1802

Order: Decapoda Latreille, 1802

Family: Epialtidae MacLeay, 1838

Crocydocinus saravananei Padate, Lee & Cubelio, 2020

Collection: SE Arabian Sea, continental slope off Thiruvananthapuram – 8.41°N, 76.16°E, 959 m, 26.10.2017 (FORVSS 366, St. 03), High Speed Demersal Trawl (Crustacean Version); 8.46°N, 76.41°E, 280 m, 01.06.2009 (FORVSS 267 leg I, St. 07), Grab.

Voucher No.: CMLRE IO/SS/BRC/00180 and IO/SS/BRC/00293

Description: Carapace pyriform, bearing thick tomentum, long setae tufts along edge of gastric and branchial regions, smooth when denuded. Pseudorostral spines straight, short, diverging in V. Carapace regions well-defined, gastric, cardiac and branchial regions highly elevated; gastric region with median row of 1 conical mesogastric granule, 1 low adjoining elongated granule, and 1 posterior elongated metagastric granule, 1 pair of lateral conical granules, (urogastric granule absent); cardiac region with 1 conical granule, flanked laterally by 1 pair of small granules at base; intestinal region with 1 compressed granule; branchial region with 3 short conical granules; lateral branchial margins of carapace with 2 granules. Pterygostomian region with 3 granules. G1 relatively straight, laterally flattened, distal tip constricted.

Biological association: None.

Remarks: First distributional record of the genus Crocydocinus Lee, Richer de Forges & P.K.L. Ng,  2019 from the Indian Ocean.

Distribution: Continental shelf off southwestern India (known only from type locality). Depth range: 280–959 m.

Distribution map:

Identified by: Vinay P. Padate

Publication: Padate V.P., Lee B.-Y., Sherine Sonia Cubelio (2020) Description of a new species of deep-sea spider crab from the genus Crocydocinus Lee, Richer de Forges & Ng, 2019, from the south-eastern Arabian Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Majoidea: Epialtidae). Zootaxa, 4816 (2): 229–234. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4816.2.8

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