Phylogenetic evidence and morphological diagnosis for a new species of Parasesarma De Man, 1895 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae) from Sulawesi, Indonesia.

A new species of Parasesarma, P. rahayuae n. sp., is described from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Genetically, the new species is distinct from all other known species of Parasesarma and has a close phylogenetic relationship with P. anambas Yeo, Rahayu & Ng, 2004 and P. gemmatum Li, Shih & Ng, 2019. Morphologically, the new species most closely resembles P. anambas and P. gemmatum, but can be distinguished from these two species by the shape of the dactylar tubercles of the male chela and of the male first gonopod. This is the fourth species of Parasesarma recorded from Sulawesi, and with its description, the number of species assigned to the genus Parasesarma is 58.

On two species of Aniptumnus Ng, 2002 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pilumnidae) from India, with a description of a new species from the coast of Kerala.

The taxonomy of two species of Indian pilumnid crabs is treated herein. Heteropanope neolaevis Deb, 1985, originally described from northeastern India, is retained in the genus Aniptumnus Ng, 2002 as a valid species and removed from synonymy with Aniptumnus quadridentatus (De Man, 1895). A new species, Aniptumnus bijoyi, is described from southwestern India, based on distinguishing features in the carapace, thoracic sternum, pereopods and gonopods. With these developments, five species of Aniptumnus are now recognized.

On a collection of freshwater and estuarine crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura) from Mindanao Island, the Philippines.

The brachyuran fauna of the large southern Philippine island of Mindanao is poorly known, with only a few freshwater and estuarine crab species described or recorded in the last 30 years. Renewed interest in crab biodiversity has led to recent, small-scale surveys (2016-2019) of freshwater and estuarine habitats in various localities in Mindanao, which have yielded a good diversity of brachyuran crabs. As a result, a total of 26 species of brachyuran crab, representing 6 families (Hymenosomatidae, Oziidae, Gecarcinidae, Sesarmidae, Varunidae, and Ocypodidae), are reported here. Of these, 15 species are new records for the main island of Mindanao, 6 of which are also new records for the Philippines. Remarks on the taxonomy, distribution, and natural history of these species are also provided.

On the two 'forms' of Dotilla intermedia De Man, 1888 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Dotillidae) from the Bay of Bengal, India, with description of a new species.

Two distinct morphotypes of sand bubbler crab (Dotillidae) from eastern India were assigned to Dotilla intermedia De Man, 1888, by British carcinologist, Stanley Kemp in 1919, due to similarities in the areolation of the carapace and the occurrence of these two forms in the same locality. Kemp, however, also illustrated the differences in the morphology of the male thoracic sternums, chelae, and first gonopods and, accordingly, divided D. intermedia into two subcategories which he called the "high form" and the "low form". The recent designation of a lectotype for D. intermedia, which corresponds with Kemp's "high form", makes it possible to recognize the "low form" as a distinct and new species, D. fraternalis n. sp., which is described here. Furthermore, Kemp's synonymization of Dotilla clepsydrodactylus Alcock, 1900, under Dotilla intermedia is affirmed here after examination of the surviving syntypes. A lectotype is selected to stabilize the taxonomy of this species.

On the occurrence of Parasesarma cricotum (Rahayu amp; Davie, 2002 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Sesarmidae) in Palau and Sulawesi.

The occurrence of Parasesarma cricotum (Rahayu Davie, 2002) in Palau and Sulawesi is reported after the examination of several male and female specimens collected from Sulawesi, Indonesia, and Palau. The present record from Palau, has extended the distribution of P. cricotum considerably further northeast of its natural distribution range.

Resolution of the Portunusgladiator species complex: taxonomic status and identity of Monomiagladiator (Fabricius, 1798) and Monomiahaanii (Stimpson, 1858) (Brachyura, Decapoda, Portunidae).

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently adopted DNA barcoding for the purpose of determining the species identity of commercial seafood products. This effort has revealed instances of incongruence between current scientifically accepted taxon names and those utilized by the seafood industry in product labelling. One such case is that of "Portunushaanii", a name utilized by the seafood industry to label commercial products under the market name "red swimming crab." However, carcinologists currently regard P.haanii as synonym of Portunusgladiator Fabricius, 1798, which itself is the subject of debate over whether it is a secondary homonym of Cancer gladiator Fabricius, 1793. Further complicating matters, DNA barcode sequences from commercial products match GenBank sequences identified as Portunuspseudoargentatus Stephenson, 1961. Here the complicated taxonomic history of the Portunusgladiator complex is reviewed and a resolution proposed based on combined morphological descriptions and molecular phylogenetic analyses. It is demonstrated that, given the provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the current elevation of Monomia Gistel, 1848, to full genus rank, its type species, Portunusgladiator Fabricius, 1798, should be treated as a valid and available taxon name. It is also shown, upon examination and comparison of types and topotypic material that Monomiahaanii (Stimpson, 1858) is a distinct taxon from M.gladiator, and Portunuspseudoargentatus Stephenson, 1961, is a junior subjective synonym of M.haanii (Stimpson, 1858). Furthermore, it is shown that crab meat sold in the US currently labeled as "Portunushaanii" and/or "red swimming crab" is in fact M.haanii using comparative analysis of DNA barcode sequences between museum-vouchered reference specimens, whole crabs provided directly by a seafood importer, and processed commercial products purchased at retail.

A new species of ocellated Xanthias Rathbun, 1897 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Xanthidae) from the Bohol Sea, Philippines.

A new species of xanthid crab (Brachyura: Xanthidae) is described from the Bohol Sea in the central Philippines. Xanthias joanneae sp. nov. is most similar in morphology to X. maculatus Sakai, 1961 (type locality: Sagami Bay, Japan), particularly in the presence of distinctive ocelli on the carapace and pereopods. It can be separated from this species by the greater number of ocelli on the dorsal surface of the carapace, wider teeth separated by narrow notches on the carapace anterolateral margin, absence of longitudinal ridges on the external surface of the chelar palm, shorter and stouter ambulatory legs, narrower male anterior thoracic sternum, and stouter G 1.

A new species of false spider crab of the genus Elamena H. Milne Edwards, 1837 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Hymenosomatidae), from Davao Gulf, Philippines.

A new species of hymenosomatid crab of the genus Elamena H. Milne Edwards, 1837, is described from the island of Samal, in the Davao Gulf, Mindanao, southern Philippines. Elamena samalensis sp. nov. belongs to the Elamena truncata species-group and is most similar to E. simplidenta Ng & Chuang, 1996, in the general form of the carapace and in the presence of only one subdistal tooth on the ambulatory dactyli. It can be distinguished from this species, however, by its more projecting rostrum, relatively longer and more slender ambulatory legs, and by the pointed apex of the female pleotelson.