Anomuran and Brachyuran Symbiotic Crabs in Coastal Areas between the Southern Ryukyu arc and the Coral Triangle
Parinya Limviriyakul, Li-Chun Tseng, Jiang-Shiou Hwang, and Tung-Wei Shih (2016) Symbiotic anomuran and brachyuran crabs were identified after extensive surveys of reef zones, especially from sponges, scleractinian corals, crinoids, and sea urchins, in the coastal areas of the southern East China Sea. Twenty-nine species belonging to 17 genera, 9 families, and 2 infraorders were identified (3 were identified to the generic level). More crabs belonged to the infraorder Brachyura (82.8%) than to Anomura (17.2%). Two species of Anomura (Lauriea simulata, Petrolisthes virgatus) and 3 of Brachyura (Gonatonotus nasutus, Tetralia aurantistellata and Tetralia nigrolineata) were identified for the first time from waters adjacent to Taiwan. These records represent the northernmost recorded of L. simulata and T. aurantistellata. The occurrence of P. virgatus is the second in the western Pacific Ocean. This study revealed the geospatial distribution of symbiotic crabs, which connects the region from the southern Ryukyu arc to the Coral Triangle, supporting taxonomic account of symbiotic anomuran and brachyuran crabfauna inhabiting the reef zone in northern Taiwan.
Keywords
Symbiosis, Anomura, Branchyura, Reef, Southern East China Sea.
