Peltogasterella sensuru n. sp. (Crustacea: Cirripedia: Rhizocephala) from off Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan) with remarks on its single brood externae.

Abstract

Peltogasterella sensuru n. sp. infests Pagurixus hermit crabs inhabiting rocky shores off Okinawa Island (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan). This species is clearly distinguishable from Peltogasterella gracilis (Boschma, 1927): the stalk emerges from the middle part of the externa in the present species and P. sulcata (Lilljeborg, 1859), while the stalk in P. gracilis emerges from the posterior end of the externae. The new species differs from P. sulcata based on the morphology of the mantle aperture. Peltogasterella sensuru n. sp. repeatedly produces single brood externae that have not been previously observed in species belonging to the suborder Kentrogonida Delage, 1884. We also determined partial sequences of the COI gene and 16S rRNA gene of the new species for use as molecular markers for species identification.