Description of Ghatiana, a new genus of freshwater crab, with two new species and a new species of Gubernatoriana (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Gecarcinucidae) from the Western Ghat Mountains, India

Abstract

A new genus of freshwater crab, Ghatiana, with two new species, Ghatiana aurantiaca and Ghatiana hyacintha, and a new species of Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970, are described from the Western Ghat Mountains in Maharashtra State, India. Ghatiana is most similar to Gubernatoriana by its wide, highly arched carapace and by the shape of the male abdomen. Nevertheless, the new genus can be distinguished from Gubernatoriana by the broadness of carapace, length of male abdomen, shape of sixth abdominal somite, length of telson and length of G1 terminal article. Ghatiana aurantiaca sp. nov. and G. hyacintha sp. nov. are distinguished by differences in body colour, carapace width, and G1 morphology, whereas Gubernatoriana triangulus sp. nov. is distinguished from two other known species [Gubernatoriana gubernatoris (Alcock, 1909) and Gubernatoriana pilosipes (Alcock, 1909)] by its triangular G1 subterminal segment and by its carapace morphology. Keys to the species of both the genera are provided.

http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:36BAA1EA-DC15-4B06-BA09-7BD26C63FF54

Keywords:

• freshwater crabs
• taxonomy
• new genus
• new species
• India

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to Dr K. Venkataraman, the Director of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for kind support and encouragement. Thanks to the authorities of Maharashtra Forest Department for permission to conduct surveys and for providing information regarding the crabs. Special thanks to Dr M.K. Dev Roy and Mr S. Mitra of Crustacea Section, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for facilitating access to the comparative materials under their care. We are thankful to the reviewers for valuable suggestions and comments on the manuscript.