RECORDS OF THE HERMIT CRAB GENUS PAGURIXUS MELIN, 1939 (DECAPODA: ANOMURA: PAGURIDAE) FROM SHALLOW CORAL REEFS IN THE PANGLAO ISLANDS, THE PHILIPPINES, WITH DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES

Abstract

The pagurid hermit crab genus Pagurixus Melin, 1939, is widely distributed in shallow waters in tropical to warm temperate seas in the Indo-West to Central Pacifi c. This study deals with a collection made during the PANGLAO 2004 Marine Biodiversity Project. Nine species of the genus were identifi ed, including one new to science: P. concolor Komai & Osawa, 2006, P. formosus Komai, 2010, P. haigae Komai & Osawa, 2007, P. longipes Osawa, Fujita & Okuno, 2006, P. maorus (Nobili, 1906), P. nomurai Komai & Asakura, 1995, P. ruber Komai & Osawa, 2006, P. rubrovittatus Komai, 2010, and P. spiniferore, new species. Of these, all but P. haigae are recorded from the Philippines for the fi rst time, clearly suggesting that the inventory of the shallow coral reef fauna in the area is far from satisfactory. The new species, P. spiniferore, belongs to the P. anceps (Forest, 1954) species group, and is immediately distinguished from all other members of the group by the palm of the right cheliped in the male armed with a row of small spines or spiniform tubercles on each dorsolateral and dorsomesial margin and the presence of spines on the dorsodistal margin of the carpus of the right cheliped.