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

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.

Diversity and Distribution of Fiddler Crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Ocypodidae) around the Arabian Sea.

Nine species of fiddler crabs (Crustacea: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) are known from the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and Arabian/Persian Gulf): five species of Austruca, one Cranuca, two Gelasimus and one Tubuca. COI sequence data match morphological species boundaries and shows high connectivity within each. The fauna is highly endemic, with three species of Austruca (A. albimana, A. iranica and A. sindensis) confined to this region, and four others restricted to the Indian Ocean. restricted to the Indian Ocean. Austruca albimana and A. iranica speciated locally and now have narrowly overlapping ranges in Oman. Our results confirm the westernmost distributions of Austruca annulipes and Tubuca alcocki are Pakistan and the Red Sea, respectively. A key for the nine species is also provided to help identification.

Resurrection of Gelasimus variegatus Heller, 1862, A Fiddler Crab Closely Related to Austruca bengali (Crane, 1975) and A. triangularis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Ocypodidae), from the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean.

The identity of the fiddler crab, Gelasimus variegatus Heller, 1862 (type locality: Madras, India), has long been uncertain. Examination of specimens from the Bay of Bengal shows that it is a valid species belonging to the genus Austruca Bott, 1973. Austruca variegata (Heller, 1862) can be separated from the closely related A. bengali (Crane, 1975) and A. triangularis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873) by characters of the carapace, orbital floor, major and minor chelae, male first gonopod, vulva (female gonopore), gastric mill, and coloration in life. The three species are also supported by genetic data (nuclear 28S rDNA, mitochondrial 16S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI)). Biogeographically, A. variegata is distributed in the Bay of Bengal and reaches to the Laccadive Sea; A. bengali is present in the Andaman Sea; and A. triangularis is widely distributed in the West Pacific.