Zoological Studies

Vol. 59, 2020

(update: 2020.05.22; 07.06)
 

A New Fiddler Crab of Austruca Bott, 1973, Closely Related to A. perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1852) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), from the South Pacific Islands

Hsi-Te Shih1,* and Joseph Poupin2

doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-26

1Department of Life Science and Research Center for Global Change Biology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan. *Correspondence: E-mail: htshih@dragon.nchu.edu.tw (Shih)
2Ecole Navale, CC 600, 29240 Brest Cedex 9, France. E-mail: joseph.poupin@ecole-navale.fr (Poupin)

(Received 25 December 2019 / Accepted 20 May 2020)
Communicated by Benny K.K. Chan

A new species of fiddler crab, Austruca citrus n. sp. from Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, and Samoa, in the South Pacific is described based on morphological and molecular evidence. This species is closely related to Austruca perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), but can be distinguished by a suite of characters, including adult size, carapace morphology, shape and coloration of the major chela, the ratio of major pollex length as a function of carapace width, and male first gonopod form. The molecular evidence of the mitochondrial 16S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) supports these morphological differences.

Key words: Fiddler crabs, Austruca perplexa, A. citrus, New species, 16S rDNA, Cytochrome oxidase subunit I.

Citation: Shih HT, Poupin J. 2020. A new fiddler crab of Austruca Bott, 1973, closely related to A. perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1852) (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae), from the south Pacific Islands. Zool Stud 59:26. doi:10.6620/ZS.2020.59-26.