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| Munidopsis giribeti Rodríguez-Flores, 2025 |
Abstract
Seamounts in the Central Pacific Ocean remain largely unexplored. Squat lobsters, a major deep-sea invertebrate group, are poorly known in this area, whereas recent sampling efforts in the Western Pacific have resulted in a populated database of Galatheoidea Samouelle, 1819. Material recently collected by the E/V Nautilus during several expeditions to Central Pacific seamounts is reviewed herein, revealing the presence of 16 species. Ten species constitute geographic range expansions, and five are new taxa: Trapezionida hercules sp. nov., T. tapina sp. nov., Typhlonida annieae sp. nov., Munidopsis giribeti sp. nov., and M. nemo sp. nov. Using 3D imaging via micro-CT scanning and molecular phylogenetic analysis of COI and 16S mitochondrial genes, these species are described and illustrated, and their phylogenetic positions are revealed. Several of the new species represent highly divergent lineages not closely related to known species, indicating a need to continue exploring the deep ocean in the Central Pacific. The study herein also describes the habitats and biological associations of these species, ranging from corals to chemosynthetic environments. The new data fill an important geographic gap in the distribution of squat lobster species and contribute to understanding the speciation processes and connectivity among seamounts in the Pacific Ocean.
Paula C Rodríguez-Flores. 2025. New Species of Deep-sea Galatheoidea (Anomura: Galatheidae, Munididae, Munidopsidae) from Central Pacific Seamounts, with remarks on their phylogenetic placement, habitat associations, and significance for the biogeography of squat lobsters. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 45(1); ruae080. DOI: doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruae080