Vol. 51 No. 2, 2012

Leucosiid Crabs of the Genus Hiplyra Galil, 2009 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Leucosiidae) from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with Description of a New Species

Reza Naderloo^1,2,* and Michael Apel³

¹Research Institute and Natural Museum of Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
²School of Biology, College of Science, Univ. of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
³Museum Mensch und Natur, Maria-Ward-Straße 1b, 80638 München, Germany. E-mail:apel@musmn.de

Reza Naderloo and Michael Apel (2012) Four species of the leucosiid genus Hiplyra Galil, 2009, are reported here from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. A new species, H. ramli sp. nov. was collected along the coast of Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) in the western part of the Gulf of Oman. This new species differs from congeners in the shape of the male 1st gonopod, the morphology of the female gonopore, and the armature of the 6th segment of the male abdomen. Hiplyra elegans (Gravier 1920) is also recorded from the Iranian coast of the Gulf of Oman for the 1st time. Two species from the area, H. variegata (Rüppell, 1830) and H. sagitta Galil 2009, are included in this study, and a key is provided for the genus in the area.

Key words: Brachyura, Leucosiidae, Hiplyra, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman.

*Correspondence: E-mail:rnaderloo@senckenberg.de