 |
| Pseudohelice annamalai Prema, Hsu, Shih & Ravichandran, 2022 |
A new pseudocryptic species of the varunid crab genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, is described from India based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species was collected from higher intertidal zones in the Vellar River estuary, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India, in a habitat composed of muddy and sandy sediment. Pseudohelice annamalai n. sp. is similar to P. subquadrata (Dana, 1851) and P. latreillii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) in general form, but can be distinguished from the congeners by the characters of the infraorbital ridges, male first gonopod, and female vulvae. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences also support the new species. The occurrence of Pseudohelice from India links the distribution gap between the western Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. The new species provides additional evidence for the geographic isolation of the eastern Indian Ocean for some marine organisms.
Key words: Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I, Morphology, Pseudohelice annamalai, Taxonomy, Tamil Nadu.
Pseudohelice annamalai n. sp.
Etymology: This species is named after Annamalai University, in honor of 100 years’ service in education and research as a state university of India. In addition, the present specimens were collected from the intertidal areas in front of the Faculty of Marine Science, Research Centre (Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University), Vellar River, Tamil Nadu. The name is used as a noun in apposition.
Distribution: Currently known only from the type locality, the Vellar River estuary, southeastern India.
Mani Prema, Jhih-Wei Hsu, Hsi-Te Shih and Samuthirapandian Ravichandran. 2022. First Record of the Genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006 from India and Description of A New Pseudocryptic Species (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae). Zoological Studies. 61:56. DOI: 10.6620/ZS.2022.61-56
