Abstract
Recent expeditions (NANHAI 2014, DONGSHA 2014 and ZHONGSHA 2015) conducted in deep waters of the South China Sea obtained interesting material of various spider crabs (Majoidea) including several new records for the area, and two new species of epialtids of the genera Oxypleurodon Miers, 1885 and Stegopleurodon Richer de Forges & Ng, 2009. Two poorly known species, previously only known from their types, Rochinia strangeri Serène & Lohavanijaya, 1973 and R. kagoshimensis (Rathbun, 1932) comb. nov., are redescribed, refigured, and their taxonomy discussed.
Highlights
There have been a number of reports on the brachyuran crab fauna in and around the deep waters of the South China Sea (SCS), notably by Gordon (1930, 1931), Serène & Lohavanijaya (1973), Chen (1980, 1998), Chen & Xu (1991), Ng & Huang (1997), Chen & Ng (1999a, b), Ho & Ng (1999), Ng & Chen (1999, 2004, 2005), Ng (2000), Ng et al (2001), Ho et al (2004) and Lee et al (2015)
We here report on the material collected from three recent expeditions (NANHAI 2014, DONGSHA 2014 and ZHONGSHA 2015), which add two new species of epialtid crabs, one in the genus Oxypleurodon Miers, 1886 and another in Stegopleurodon Richer de Forges & Ng, 2009, to the fauna of the SCS
The four island groups within the SCS – Macclesfield Bank, Pratas Islands, Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands – are known by several different names. This reflects the complex history of the islands in a dynamic geopolitical situation with uncertainties regarding their ownership
Summary
There have been a number of reports on the brachyuran crab fauna in and around the deep waters of the South China Sea (SCS), notably by Gordon (1930, 1931), Serène & Lohavanijaya (1973), Chen (1980, 1998), Chen & Xu (1991), Ng & Huang (1997), Chen & Ng (1999a, b), Ho & Ng (1999), Ng & Chen (1999, 2004, 2005), Ng (2000), Ng et al (2001), Ho et al (2004) and Lee et al (2015).European Journal of Taxonomy 358: 1–37 (2017)the diversity in this large area remains poorly understood. The four island groups within the SCS – Macclesfield Bank ( known as Zhongsha Islands), Pratas Islands ( known as Dongsha or Tungsha Islands), Spratly Islands ( known as Nansha Islands) and Paracel Islands ( known as Xisha Islands) – are known by several different names. This reflects the complex history of the islands in a dynamic geopolitical situation with uncertainties regarding their ownership. For convenience and in the context of the actual expeditions conducted, the names as used by the collectors will be followed
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