First Record of the Genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006 from India and Description of a New Pseudocryptic Species (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varunidae).

Abstract

A new pseudocryptic species of the varunid crab genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, is described from India based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species was collected from higher intertidal zones in the Vellar River estuary, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India, in a habitat composed of muddy and sandy sediment. Pseudohelice annamalai n. sp. is similar to P. subquadrata (Dana, 1851) and P. latreillii (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) in general form, but can be distinguished from the congeners by the characters of the infraorbital ridges, male first gonopod, and female vulvae. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I sequences also support the new species. The occurrence of Pseudohelice from India links the distribution gap between the western Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean. The new species provides additional evidence for the geographic isolation of the eastern Indian Ocean for some marine organisms.