Abstract
A new species, Cherax warsamsonicus sp. n., endemic to the Warsamson River drainage, in the western part of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) peninsula, West Papua, Indonesia, is described, figured and compared with its closely related species, Cherax misolicus Holthuis, 1949. The new species may be easily distinguished from C. misolicus by the shape of the rostrum, absence of setae on the rostrum, the shape of the chelae, the presence of 3-4 cervical spines and by using sequence divergence, which is substantial for considering C. warsamsonicus sp. n. to be a new species. The new species is collected and exported for ornamental purposes and its commercial name in the pet trade is Cherax “irian jaya”, Cherax “pink coral”, or Cherax “hoa creek“. Due to similar colouration it is often confused with the recently described Cherax pulcher Lukhaup, 2015.
Highlights
The crayfishes of the island of New Guinea were extensively studied by Holthuis (1949, 1956, 1958, 1982, 1986, 1996), with additions by Lukhaup and Pekny (2006, 2008a), Lukhaup and Herbert (2008), Lukhaup (2015), Lukhaup et al (2015) and Patoka et al (2015)
Over the last decade, there has been an increasing number of colourful crayfish, presumed to be a further undescribed species, sold from New Guinea in the ornamental fish trade in Europe and Asia under the names Cherax “irian jaya” and Cherax “hoa creek” (Lukhaup and Pekny 2014). These have been exported to some countries in Europe, East Asia and North America. While they are clearly species of Cherax, a large genus of freshwater crayfish occurring in Indonesia (West Papua), Papua New Guinea and Australia, their exact provenances could not be ascertained, with dealers claiming they came from Ajamaru (West Papua) and other places in the area that could not be confirmed
In January 2016 we visited the Sorong Regency and South Sorong Regency to clarify the distribution of some of the species present in the pet trade. This species is described as new to science and establish that it is native to the Warsamson River Drainage, Sorong Regency of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) Peninsula West Papua, Indonesia
Summary
The crayfishes of the island of New Guinea were extensively studied by Holthuis (1949, 1956, 1958, 1982, 1986, 1996), with additions by Lukhaup and Pekny (2006, 2008a), Lukhaup and Herbert (2008), Lukhaup (2015), Lukhaup et al (2015) and Patoka et al (2015). This species is described as new to science and establish that it is native to the Warsamson River Drainage, Sorong Regency of the Kepala Burung (Vogelkop) Peninsula West Papua, Indonesia. N. may be distinguished using sequence divergence, by colouration and pattern of live individuals, by the shape of the chelae, the shape of rostrum, and presence of dense setae on the rostrum in C. misolicus which is absent in the new species.
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