Actaea grimaldii, a new species of reef crab from Papua New Guinea (Crustacea, Brachyura, Xanthidae)

Peter K.L Ng,Philippe Bouchet

doi:10.5852/ejt.2015.140

Abstract

A new species of xanthid crab, Actaea grimaldii, is described from the coral reefs of Papua New Guinea. This species has a distinctive red and white coloration and is closest to Actaea spinosissima Borradaile, 1902, from the Indian Ocean. However, the new species can be distinguished by the arrangement of spines on the carapace, chelipeds and ambulatory legs, and the structure of the male gonopods. Actaea grimaldii sp. nov. has also been confused with A. polyacantha (Heller, 1861), but differs markedly in the carapace armature.

Highlights

In the 1970–1990s, extensive marine biology field work was carried out on the north coast of Papua New Guinea: at Laing Island, in Hansa Bay, at King Leopold III Biological Station, and in the Madang Lagoon, at a facility run by the Christensen Foundation
The purpose of the present paper is to describe this new species of Actaea De Haan, 1833
There are a group of Actaea species which have numerous small and large spines on their dorsal carapace surface, chelipeds and/or legs: A. calculosa

Summary

Introduction

In the 1970–1990s, extensive marine biology field work was carried out on the north coast of Papua New Guinea: at Laing Island, in Hansa Bay, at King Leopold III Biological Station, and in the Madang Lagoon, at a facility run by the Christensen Foundation. Several authors (e.g., Gosliner 1992; Thomas 1996) highlighted the exceptionally high species richness of Madang Lagoon, which became a famous place in marine biodiversity lore. Both King Leopold III Biological Station and the Christensen Foundation facility ceased operations in the mid-1990s, and, as a result, marine biologists essentially stopped research activities on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. Between November 30 and December 2, 2012, the expedition was European Journal of Taxonomy 140: 1–18 (2015)

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