A new genus and species of Aphanodactylidae Ahyong & Ng, 2009 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Pinnotheroidea) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract

A new genus and new species of pinnotheroid crab of the family Aphanodactylidae, Takedactylus masatsunei, is described from Sesoko Island, adjacent to Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. The new species differs markedly from known aphanodactylid genera by the characters of the carapace, epistome, third maxilliped and ambulatory legs, and as such, must be placed in its own new genus. This study brings the number of taxa in the family to nine species in five genera.