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| Conchoecetes chanty
McLay & Naruse, 2019
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Abstract
The genus Conchoecetes Stimpson, 1858, has long been considered to include three species: C. artificiosus (Fabricius, 1798), C. andamanicus Alcock, 1900, and C. intermedius Lewinsohn, 1984. The type species, C. artificiosus, has been assumed to be widely distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific and a fourth species, C. conchifera (Haswell, 1882), from Australia, has been regarded as a synonym. The enigmatic and long overlooked “Caphyra pectenicola Adams, in Belcher, 1848” is shown to be a species of Conchoecetes occurring in Java, Singapore and the Gulf of Thailand. We review the status of these species, establish C. conchifera as a valid species, and describe five new species: C. atlas n. sp., C avikele n. sp., C. chanty n. sp., C. investigator n. sp. and C. pembawa n. sp. In this revision we recognize 10 valid species in Conchoecetes. They are distributed from Southern Africa, across the Indian Ocean to Australia and northwards to China. Formerly considered to be cosmopolitan, C. artificiosus is restricted to India, Sri Lanka Pakistan, as well as the Persian Gulf and Madagascar, while C. intermedius, first discovered near Madagascar, is shown to be the most widespread species occurring from Africa to China.
Keywords: Crustacea, Australia, Indo-West Pacific, Podotremata, reproduction, shell carrying, Southeast Asia, sponge crabs
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| Conchoecetes atlas n. sp., male, 30.5 × 29.0 mm, from Camiguin I., Philippines. |
Conchoecetes atlas n. sp.
Etymology. The specific name is derived from “Atlas”, the Greek Titan who held up the heavens, and an
allusion to the fact that this crab carries a bivalve shell above its body, thereby defining its “visible world”. It is a
noun used in apposition.
Conchoecetes avikele n. sp.
Etymology. The specific name “Avikele” is a translation of the South African Zulu word for “Shield” both of
which can be either a noun or a verb and alludes to the habit of the crab to protect itself by carrying a bivalve shell
over its body in the same way as a Zulu warrior protected himself in battle. The species name is used as a noun in
apposition.
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| Conchoecetes chanty n. sp. showing fresh colours, female, 36.3 × 35.5 mm from East China Sea. |
Conchoecetes chanty n. sp.
Etymology. The name Conchoecetes chanty n. sp. is used to recognize the contribution to decapod biology
of Chan Tin-Yam, Institute of Marine Biology, Keelung, Taiwan and alludes to the fact that these shell-carrying
crabs only occupy their bivalve shell temporarily. The specific name “chanty” uses the letters of his name and has
the same sound as the English word “shanty”, a rough dwelling used for a short time, alluding to the crab’s use of
shells. It is used as a noun in apposition.
Conchoecetes investigator n. sp.
Etymology. The specific name is an allusion to the fact that the type specimen was collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship “Investigator”. It is a noun used in apposition.
Conchoecetes pembawa n. sp.
Etymology. The specific name “pembawa” is the Malay word for “carrier”, alluding to the habit of this crab
carrying a bivalve shell as a mobile shelter and the type locality, Penang Is., Malaya.
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| FIGURE 16. Conchoecetes intermedius Lewinsohn, 1984, male, 33.0 × 32.0 mm, from Phan Thiet Mui Ne Beach, South Central Coast, Vietnam (photograph by Ondrej Radosta). A, dorsal view; B, fronto-dorsal view. |
Conchoecetes artificiosus (Fabricius, 1798)
Conchoecetes andamanicus Alcock, 1900
Conchoecetes conchifera (Haswell, 1882)
Conchoecetes intermedius Lewinsohn, 1984
Conchoecetes pectenicola (Adams, in Belcher, 1848)
Colin L. McLay and Tohru Naruse. 2019. Revision of the Shell-carrying Crab Genus Conchoecetes Stimpson, 1858 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Dromiidae). Zootaxa. 4706(1); 1–47. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4706.1.1
