Tuesday, January 21, 2020

[Crustacea • 2020] New and Rare Micro-pagurid Hermit Crabs (Anomura: Paguridae) from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico


Anisopagurus asteriscus
Lemaitre, 2020


Abstract
Six species of hermit crabs of the family Paguridae from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico region, including two new species, Anisopagurus asteriscus sp. nov. and Pagurus alarius sp. nov., are documented. The two new species are described, and recognition characters summarized for the four previously known species. Reports of the latter, Nematopaguroides fagei Forest & de Saint Laurent, 1968, N. karukera Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017, Paguriscus robustus Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017, and Pylopaguridium markhami McLaughlin & Lemaitre, 2001, represent range extensions for all four species. Color photographs are included for four of the species, as well as remarks on their taxonomy and distributions. All six species included can be categorized as micro-pagurids (with shield length rarely exceeding 2.0 mm), and were collected from cryptic reef habitats in Bocas del Toro, Panama; the French Antillean island of Guadeloupe; and the Gulf of Mexico coasts of Louisiana, Yucatán, and Florida Keys. The discovery of these new or rare species supports the conclusion of recent studies that the diversity of pagurids from the Caribbean region has yet to be fully realized.

Keywords: Crustacea, Paguridae, micro-pagurids, new species, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico


 Family Paguridae Latreille, 1802


FIGURE 4. Anisopagurus asteriscus sp. nov., Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, Caribbean Sea:
A, B, female (in shell) 2.1 mm (UF 044440); C, male 1.8 mm, removed from shell (UF 044486); D, same male in shell (UF 044312). Scales: 2.0 mm. (Photographs: G. Paulay).

Anisopagurus asteriscus sp. nov. 

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Greek asteriskos, meaning small star, and refers to the characteristic minute star-like tubercles that adorn the dorsal surface of the right chela of this new species.


Pagurus alarius sp. nov.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin alarius, meaning of wings, and refers to the wing-like similarity of the fringes of long setae on the right chela that characterize this new species.


FIGURE 11. A, Paguriscus robustus Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, Caribbean Sea: male, 1.2 mm (UF 044397);
B, Nematopaguroides karukera Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, Caribbean Sea: ov female in shel 1.8 mm (UF 044300);
C, D, Pylopaguridium markhami McLaughlin & Lemaitre, 2001, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, Caribbean Sea: C, male 1.6 mm (UF 044314); D, male 1.4 mm (UF 044396).
 Scales: 1.0 mm (A), 2.0 mm (B–D). (Photographs: G. Paulay)

Nematopaguroides fagei Forest & de Saint Laurent, 1968

Nematopaguroides karukera Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017 

Paguriscus robustus Lemaitre, Felder & Poupin, 2017 

Pylopaguridium markhami McLaughlin & Lemaitre, 2001 


Rafael Lemaitre. 2020. New and Rare Micro-pagurid Hermit Crabs (Crustacea: Anomura: Paguridae) from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Zootaxa. 4722(4); 301–325. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4722.4.1