Revision of the sesarmid crab genera Labuanium Serène and Soh, 1970, Scandarma Schubart, Liu and Cuesta, 2003 and Namlacium Serène and Soh, 1970 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Sesarmidae), with descriptions of four new genera and two new species
Author
Naruse, Tohru
Author
Ng, Peter K. L.
text
Journal of Natural History
2020
J. Nat. Hist.
2020-08-12
54
7 - 8
445
532
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2020.1763491
journal article
55729
10.1080/00222933.2020.1763491
fb05d004-0f2d-44da-b91e-b6e8304ab2a5
1464-5262
4609148
414B8DAA-584F-4070-A355-83B583D0D017
Circulium vitatum
(
Ng and Davie, 2011
)
,
comb. nov.
(
Figure 7
(a,b))
Sesarma oceanicum
:
Alcock 1900
, p. 423
;
George 1978
, p. 14
.
Sesarma
(
Episesarma
)
rotundata papuo-malesiaca
:
Nobili 1900
, p. 510
(part).
Sesarma
(
Sesarma
)
rotundata
:
Tesch 1917
, p. 193
(part).
Figure 7.
a, b,
Circulium vitatum
(
Ng and Davie, 2011
)
, ZRC 2014.0283 (Ambon, Indonesia) showing colouration in life; c,
Scandarma gracilipes
(H.
Milne Edwards 1853
), ZRC 2018.0056, male, 12.8 × 13.7 mm (Vanuatu), showing colouration in life; d,
Scandarma malagasy
sp. nov.
, ZRC 2010.0303, female, 20.5 × 22.0 mm (Madagasacar), showing colouration in preservative (about 6 years and 8 months). Photographed by Tan Heok Hui (a, b) and P.K.L. Ng (c).
Labuanium rotundatum
:
Serène and Soh 1970
, p. 401
(part);
Hicks et al. 1984
, p. 64
;
Davie 2002
, p. 221
(part);
Ng and Liu 2003
, p. 614
(part);
Ng et al. 2008a
, p. 221
(part).
Labuanium vitatum
Ng and Davie, 2011
, p. 37
, figs 1, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, B, 6A, 7, 8, 10A–G [
type
locality:
Christmas Island
].
Material examined
Holotype
.
WAM
C13977,
male
, 35.3 ×
34.7 mm
,
60 m
above beach
,
on tree trunk
,
on track to West White Beach
,
Christmas Island
, coll.
D. Merton
,
11 February 1978
.
Paratype
.
WAM
19380,
1 male
, 39.2 ×
39.2 mm
,
The Dales
,
Christmas Island
, coll. H
. Yorkston, ca.
January 1989
.
Others.
RMNH 1989
, male, 24.8 ×
25.5 mm
,
Nias
,
Indonesia
, coll. E.E.W.G.
Schröder
, 1908;
ZRC 2002.0099
,
1 male
, 33.7 ×
34.9 mm
,
Cuthbert Bay
,
Andamans
,
India
, coll. P.
Biswas
, 2001;
ZRC 2014.0283
,
3 males
, 17.8 × 17.8–22.6 ×
22.8 mm
,
1 juv
., 9.7 × 10.0 mm,
Ambon
,
Indonesia
, coll. H.H. Tan,
12–20 August 2012
.
Diagnosis
Two pairs of postfrontal lobes present, lateral lobes exceeding mesial lobes anteriorly, anterior edge of lobes far from frontal margin in dorsal view. Epistome posterior margin with 3 low lobes, lateral lobes terminally directed ventrally, median lobe terminally directed anteroventrally. Chela outer surface covered with closely arranged small granules; upper surface with incomplete row of small granules. G1 stout, relatively long, straight proximally, distally bent about 45° against main axis; distal beak-like and corneous part relatively short, narrow. Vulva not known.
Colouration
In life, carapace variable from yellowish brown to purplish with beige lateral margins, pale purple legs, bright purple palm and red fingers (
Ng and Davie 2011
).
Distribution
Eastern Indian Ocean to
Indonesia
:
Christmas Island
(
Hicks et al. 1984
) [
type
locality]; Nicobar Island (
Alcock 1900
), Nias (
Nobili 1899
,
1900
),
west Java
(
Tesch 1917
),
Ambon
(present study).
Remarks
Ng and Davie (2011)
described
Circulium vitatum
from islands of the north-eastern Indian Ocean.
Circulium vitatum
is morphologically similar to
C. papuomalesiacum
known from Western New
Guinea
[
type
locality: Cenderawasih Bay, Irian Jaya],
Caroline Islands
and
Solomon Islands
(
Ng and Davie 2011
), but the former is differentiated from the latter as the G1 is proportionately shorter and the corneous distal part is shorter and gently sinuous (
Ng and Davie 2011
, fig. 10A, B), whereas that of
C. papuomalesiacum
is relatively longer and the corneous distal part is proportionately longer and almost straight (
Ng and Davie 2011
, fig. 10H, I). We have examined
Circulium
specimens from
Ambon
, only some
100 km
away from New
Guinea Island
(
Figure 7
(a,b). Interestingly, those specimens from
Ambon
have proportionately shorter G1 with shorter and gently sinuous corneous distal part, which are diagnostic of
C. vitatum
. They agree with
C. vitatum
also in other diagnostic characters. Despite the wide geographic distance from the north-eastern Indian Ocean, the specimens from
Ambon
are here referred to as
C. vitatum
for the time being.
Ecological note
Labuanium vitattum
is also an arboreal species and has been collected usually at the base of trees in relatively close proximity to the sea (
Ng and Davie 2011
). This species grows up to
40 mm
in carapace width and spawns about the time of the full moon between November and April (
Hicks et al. 1984
, p. 64). The species has also been observed among leaves of palms (M. Orchard, personal communication). Females with eggs walk across the sand to release their larvae during the beginning of the year, several weeks after the mass spawning event of the island’s famous red crabs (
Gecarcinidae
:
Gecarcoidea natalis
(Pocock, 1889))
(Liu Hung-Chang, personal communication).