Northern unicorns of the depths: Diversity of the genus Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1874 (Decapoda: Anomura: Munidopsidae) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with descriptions of three new species along the Russian coast

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the diversity of the genus Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1874 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidea: Munidopsidae) along the Russian Northern Pacific coastline, based on recently collected and museum specimens. Six different species are recorded in the northwestern Pacific Ocean (NW Pacific), including three new species, Munidopsis kurilensis sp. nov., Munidopsis asiatica sp. nov. and Munidopsis piipa sp. nov., described in the Derjugin and the Kuril basins of the Sea of Okhotsk and active Piip submarine volcano in the Bering Sea, respectively. Moreover, Munidopsis cf. subsquamosa Henderson, 1885 is reported at the Sea of Okhotsk for the first time. Two species, Munidopsis petalorhyncha Baba, 2005 and Munidopsis beringana Benedict, 1902, previously known from the area, are re-described in details. The article discusses all known records of the genus Munidopsis from the NW Pacific, comments on their morphology, relationships, distribution and ecology, as well as on the importance of their study. A discussion of zoogeography and the possible pathways that shape contemporary diversity in the NW Pacific is also presented in the article. About half of the collected samples of these deep-sea squat lobsters were taken due to the long-term and very effective Russian–German scientific collaboration in the study of the deep-sea environments.