First record of two cylindrical crab species of the genus Ixa (Decapoda, Brachyura, Leucosiidae) from the eastern Arabian Sea, with a key to the species of Ixa recorded from the Indian coast

Abstract

Abstract Two cylindrical crabs, Ixa cylindrus (Fabricius, 1777) and Ixa edwardsii Lucas, 1858 are herein recorded for the first time from the coastal waters of the eastern Arabian Sea. Both species were collected from the bycatch landing of the commercial demersal trawlers operated along the Gujarat coastal region, northwest coast of India, between 20 and 80 m depth. Both species have been recorded from the Bay of Bengal on the east coast of India, but there is no detailed information available on their taxonomic identification and global distributional records.