Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

New Records of Three Species of Swimming Crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) from the Maldives

  • Published:
Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Three of portunid crabs – Thalamita chaptalii (Audouin, 1826), Thalamita picta Stimpson, 1858, and Thalamitoides quadridens A. Milne-Edwards, 1869 – are recorded for the first time from Maldivian waters during the current study. The important diagnostic features of these species are presented and an identification key for all Thalamita, Trierarchus and Thalamitoides currently reported from the Maldives is provided. The taxonomy of Thalamita admete Herbst, 1803, and Thranita exetastica Alcock, 1899, both also reported by Borradaile (1902) from the Maldives is discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

References

  • Alcock A (1899) Materials for a carcinologicaI fauna of India, no. 4. The Brachyura Cyclometopa, Part 2. A revision of the Cyclometopa with an account of the families Portunidae, Cancridae, and Corystidae. J Asiat Soc Bengal 68(2):1–104

  • Alcock A, Mcardle AF (1900) Illustrations of the zoology of the royal Indian Marine survey steamer ship investigator, under the command of Commander T.H. Heming, R.N. Crustacea. Part 8, Pls 46–48. Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, Calcutta

  • Apel M, Spiridonov VA (1998) Taxonomy and zoogeography of the portunid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) of the Arabian Gulf and adjacent waters. Fauna of Arabia 17:159–331

  • Audouin V (1826) Explication sommaire des planches de Crustace´s de l’E´gypte et de la Syrie, publie´es par Jules-Ce´sar Savigny, membre de l’Institut; offrant un expose´des characte`res naturels des genres, avec la distinction desespe`ces.In: Description de l’E´gypte, ou recueil des Observations et desrecherches qui ont e´te´ faites en pendantl’expe´dition en E´gypte de l’arme´e Franc¸aise, Publie´e par les ordres de sa Majeste´ l’Empereuer Napole´on le Grand, Histoire Naturelle 1(4): 77–98

  • Borradaile LA (1900) On some crustaceans from the South Pacific. Part 4 Proc Zool Soc London 3:568–590, pls. 40–42

  • Borradaile LA (1902) Marine crustaceans. I. On varieties. II. Portunidae. In: Gardiner JS (ed) The Fauna and Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes; Being the Account of the Work carried on and of the Collections made by an Expedition during the years 1899 and 1900, vol 1. University Press, Cambridge, England, pp 191–208

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosnier A (1962) Crustacés décapodes, Portunidae. Faune de Madagascar16: 1–154, text figs. 1–125, pls. 1–13

  • Dai AY, Yang SL (1991) Crabs of China Seas. China Ocean Press, Beijing, p 608

    Google Scholar 

  • Dana JD (1851) On the classification of the Cancroidea. Am J Sci Arts 12(34):121–131

  • Evans N (2018) Molecular phylogenetics of swimming crabs (Portunoidea Rafinesque, 1815) supports a revised family-level classification and suggests a single derived origin of symbiotic taxa. PeerJ 6:e4260. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner MF (1928) Die Dekapoden fauna des österreichischen Jungtertiärs. Jahrbuch der Geologischen Bundesanstalt Wien 78:161–219

  • Herbst JFW (1803) Versuch einer Naturgeschichte derKrabben und Krebse nebst einer Systematischen Beschreibung ihrer Verschiedenen Arten, vol. 3, issue 3. G.A. Lange, Berlin

  • Huang Y-H, Shih H-T (2021) Diversity in the Taiwanese swimming crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Portunidae) estimated through DNA barcodes, with descriptions of 14 new records. Zoological Studies 60:1–45. https://doi.org/10.6620/ZS.2021.60-60

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Komatsu H (2011) Crabs dredged off the Ogasawara Islands (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura). Memoirs of Natural Museum of Natural Science, Tokyo 47:219–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar AAJ, Wesley SG (2010) Spatio-temporal distribution of assemblages of brachyuran crabs at Laamu Atoll, Maldives. Atoll ResBull 588:1–16. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00775630.588

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Latreille PA (1802) Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière des Crustacés et des Insectes. Ouvrage faisant suite à l’histoire naturelle générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini, membre de plusieurs sociétés savantes. Familles naturelles des genres. Paris: F. DuFart 3:467

  • Latreille PA (1829) Les Crustacés, les Arachnides et les insects, distributes en familles naturelles, ouvrage formant les tomes 4 et 5 de celui de M. le Baron Cuvier Sur le Régne animal (deuxième édition). 2 volumes, Paris, Déterville 1:xxvii+584 pp

  • Miers EJ (1884) Crustacea. Report of the Zoological Collections of H.M.S. "Alert' London, pp. 513–575, pls 46–52

  • Miers EJ (1886) The Brachyura collected by H.M.S. Challenger. Report of the Scientific results of the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger17(2):1–362, 29 pls

  • Milne Edwards A (1861) Etudes zoologiques sur les Crustaces recents de la famille des Portuniens. Arch Mus Hist Paris 10:309–428, pIs. 28–38

  • Milne-Edwards A (1869) Description de quelques Crustacés nouveaux de la familie des Portuniens. Nouv Arch Mus Hist Nat 5:145–160, Pls. 6–7

  • Milne Edwards H (1834) Histoire naturelle des Crustacés, Paris: Libraire Encyclopédique deRoret 1:XXXV+468 pp

  • Ng PKL, Guinot D, Davie PJF (2008) Systema brachyurorum: Part I. An annotated checklist of extant brachyuran crabs of the world. Raffles Bull Zool Supplement 17:1–286

  • Ng PKL, Shih H-T, Ho P-H, Wang C-H (2017) An updated annotated checklist of brachyuran crabs from Taiwan (Crustacea:Decapoda). J Natl Taiwan mus 70(3&4):1–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Paulson O (1875) Studies on crustacea of the Red Sea, with notes regarding other seas. Part I. Podophthalmata and Edriophthalmata (Cumacea), XV + pp. 144. S.V. Kulzhenko, Kiev (in Russian)

  • Rafinesque CS (1815) Analyse de la Nature, ou Tableau de l’Univers et des Corps Organisés. Palermo: L’Imprimerie de Jean Barravecchia pp 224

  • Rathbun MJ (1902) Crabs from the Maldive Islands. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College 39(5):123–138, pl 1

  • Rathbun MJ (1907) Reports on the scientific results of the expedition to the tropical Pacific, in charge of Alexander Agassiz, by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer “Albatross,” from August, 1899, to March, 1900, Commander Jefferson F. Moser, U.S.N., commanding. IX. Reports on the scientific results of the expedition to the eastern tropical Pacific, in charge of Alexander Agassiz, by the U.S. Fish Commission steamer “Albatross,” from October, 1904, to March, 1905, Lieut.-Commander L.M. Garrett, U.S.N., commanding. X: The Brachyura. Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College 35(2): 25–74

  • Sakai T (1976) Crabs of Japan and the adjacent seas. Kodansha Ltd, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 773 pp, pls 251

  • Sankarankutty C (1961a) On decapod Brachyura from the Andaman and Nicobar islands. J Mar Biol Assoc India 3(1, 2):101–119

  • Sankarankutty C (1961b) On some crabs (Decapoda-Brachyura) from the LaccadiveArchipelago. J Mar Biol Assoc India 3(1, 2):120–136

  • Schubart CD, Reuschel S (2009) A proposal for a new classification of Portunoidea and Cancroidea (Brachyura: Heterotremata) based on two independent molecular phylogenies. In: Martin, J.W, K.A. Crandall and D.L. Felder (eds.). Decapod Crustacean Phylogenetics, England: CRC Press, Issue No. 18: 533–549. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781420092592-c27

  • Spiridonov VA, Neretina TV, Schepetov D (2014) Morphological characterization and molecular phylogeny of Portunoidea Rafinesque, 1815 (Crustacea Brachyura): Implications for understanding evolution of swimming capacity and revision of the family-level classification. Zool Anz 253:404–429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcz.2014.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spiridonov V, Neumann V (2008) Coral-inhabiting swimming crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda, Portunidae) of the Sudanese Red Sea. Org Divers Evol 8:170e1–170e19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ode.2007.06.005

  • Stephenson W (1972) An annotated check list and key to the Indo-West-Pacific swimming crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Portunidae). Bulletin of the Royal Society of New Zealand 10:1–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Stephenson W, Hudson JJ (1957) The Australian Portunids (Crustacea: Portunidae). I. The genus Thalamita. Aust J Mar Freshwater Res 8(3):312–368

  • Števčić Z (2005) The classification of brachyuran crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura). Nat Croat 14(Supp 1):1–159

  • Stimpson W (1858) Prodromus descriptionis animalium evertebratorum, quae Expeditie ad Oceanum Pacificum Septentrionalem a Republica Federata missa, Cadwaladaro Ringold et Johanne Rodgers ducibus, observavit et descripsit. Pars IV. Crustacea Cancroidea et Corystoidea, Cancridae. Proc Acad Nat Sci 10 (4):31–40

  • Vannini M, Innocent G (2000) Research on the coast of Somalia. Portunidae (Crustacea Brachyura). Trop Zool 13:251–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wee DPC, Ng PKL (1995) Swimming crabs of the genera Charybdis de Haan, 1833, and Thalamita Latreille, 1829 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) from peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Raffles Bull Zool suppl. No.1:1–128

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to Dr M. Shiham Adam, Executive Director, Marine Research Centre, Malè, Maldives for his support in obtaining research permit (FA-A/33/2004/06) and depositing the voucher specimen in MRC. We express our gratitude to Dr P.J. Hogarth, Department of Biology, University of York, England for identifying Thalamita chaptalii and Thalamita picta.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Biology, King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    A. A. J. Kumar & Mamdouh A. Al-Harbi

  2. Department of Zoology, Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. G. Wesley

  3. Faculty of Maritime Studies, King Abdul Aziz University, P.O. Box 80401, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Faisal Althobiani

Authors
  1. A. A. J. Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. G. Wesley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Mamdouh A. Al-Harbi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Faisal Althobiani
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to A. A. J. Kumar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kumar, A.A.J., Wesley, S.G., Al-Harbi, M.A. et al. New Records of Three Species of Swimming Crabs (Decapoda, Brachyura, Portunidae) from the Maldives. Thalassas 39, 435–441 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-022-00504-7

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-022-00504-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation