Galathea anepipoda Baba, 1990

Galathea anepipoda Baba, 1990: 953, fig. 12 (Madagascar, 85–150 m).—Baba et al. 2008: 65 (in part, compilation).

Galathea balssi .— Tirmizi & Javed, 1993: 47, fig. 21 (off Somali Republic, Mozambique Channel, and central part of Indian Ocean, 47–165 m) (not Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1967).

Dubious identifications:

Galathea orientalis .— Tirmizi, 1966: 182, figs 6–8 (Red Sea, South Arabian Sea, 29–100 m).

Galathea anepipoda .— Baba, 2005: 74, 243 (Sagami Bay, Japan, 366–732 m, Kei Islands, 245 m).— Dong & Li, 2010: 2, fig. 1 (East China Sea, 106–110 m) (possibly G. paleroi n.sp.).

Material examined. Mozambique. MAINBAZA, Stn CP3132, 25°11.24`S, 35°01.51’E, 101–102 m, 10 Abril 2009: 1 ov. F 3.3 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8306).

Madagascar. ATIMO VATAE, Stn CP3512, 25°15'S, 47°17'E, 140–144 m, 29 April 2010: 1 ov. F 3.4 mm (MNHN-IU-2010-4022).—Stn CP3620, 25°47'S, 46°02'E, 133–178 m, 15 May 2010: 1 ov. F 3.2 mm (MNHN-IU- 2013-8307).

Remarks. The specimens illustrated by Tirmizi & Javed (1993), and identified as G. balssi, probably belong to G. anepipoda . Further analyses should confirm the identity of these specimens, as well as other material collected by Tirmizi (1966), Baba (2005) and Dong & Li (2010). The descriptions and illustrations provided by these authors suggest that they do not belong to G. anepipoda . The genetic divergence between G. anepipoda and G. balssi is quite large (13.1% COI) (Tab. 1).

Distribution. Western Indian Ocean from the Red Sea to Madagascar and Mozambique, 47– 165 m. The records from Japan and East China Sea should be revised.