Peter K. L. Ng, Peter Castro
Zoosystema 42 (17), 239-284, (9 June 2020) https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a17
KEYWORDS: Goneplacoidea, deep-sea fauna, Indo-West Pacific region, new species
The identities of the deep-water brachyuran crabs Carcinoplax abyssicola (Miers, 1885), C. longipes (Wood-Mason, 1891), and C. specularisRathbun, 1914 (family Goneplacidae MacLeay, 1838) are clarified on the basis of the examination of types and of an extensive series of specimens from the Indo-West Pacific region, including colour photographs of fresh specimens. Two species described from the Philippines, C. verdensisRathbun, 1914 and C. politaGuinot, 1989, and previously synonymised under C. specularis, are shown to be distinct species. Two new species, C. adelphia n. sp. and C. jugum n. sp., are described from Vanuatu and the Philippines, respectively. Carcinoplax adelphia n. sp. differs from the closely allied C. specularis by having a male first gonopod (G1) that is relatively more elongated, particularly the distinctly more slender distal half, than the G1 of C. specularis. Carcinoplax jugum n. sp. is characterized by a suite of characters that includes an epistome with strongly concave lateral margins, a carapace having distinctly swollen gastric and cardiac regions, and a G1 with a subconical distal part. The taxonomies of these seven species, as well as that of the allied C. fasciataNg & Kumar, 2016 from southwestern India, are revised. A revised, updated key to the 25 known species of Carcinoplax H. Milne Edwards, 1852 is also provided.