Pilumnopeus convexus ( Maccagno, 1936 ), 1997

Fahimi, Neda & Naderloo, Reza, 2023, Pilumnidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Pilumnidae) of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with a note on their phylogeny, Zootaxa 5264 (2), pp. 256-274 : 264

Pilumnopeus convexus ( Maccagno, 1936)

Heteropanope convexa Maccagno, 1936: 176 , 177.

Pilumnopeus salomonensis Ward, 1942: 96 , pl. 6 fig. 11.—Davie 1989: 143.—Ng et al. 2008: 141.

Pilumnopeus vauquelini . — Stephensen 1946: 141, fig. 35a, b.— Barnard 1955: 30, 31, fig. 12.—Guinot 1967a: 275 (in list; part).— Basson et al. 1977: 228, 231, 243.— Titgen 1982: 252 (in list).—Hornby 1997: 15.— Naderloo & Türkay 2012: 37 .

Pilumnopeus convexa . —Davie 1989: 142, fig. 7A–C.

Pilumnopeus convexus . — Cooper 1997: 171–172, figs. 6, 16.— Apel 2001: 98.—Ng et al. 2008: 141 (in list).— Naderloo & Türkay 2012: 37 .— Naderloo et al. 2013: 449, tab. 1.— Ghory et al. 2013: 307, fig. 4.— Naderloo 2017: 311, figs. 26.21, 26.22a.— Trivedi et al. 2021: 6 , fig. 6.— Wong et al. 2020: 4, figs. 1–4.

Material examined. 1 male, CL 10.40 mm, CW 12.13 mm ( ZUTC 1127 ), Khor-Khalesi, Khuzestan, Persian Gulf , 25°35′N, 58°02′E, muddy/mangrove, coll. R. Naderloo, 24.11.2003 ; 2 males, CL 11.10–13.14 mm, CW 13.30–15.50 mm ( ZUTC 10208 ), Qwatr, Gulf of Oman, 25°08′N, 61°27′E, muddy/mangrove, coll. R. Naderloo, 28.11.2005 ; 2 males, CL 11.10–14.60 mm, CW 11.30–15.90 mm, 1 female, CL 9.40 mm, CW 12.26 mm ( ZUTC 1122 ), Bushehr, Persian Gulf , 27°14′N, 51°16′E, sandy/rocky, coll. H. Salehi, 03.12.2018 ; 5 males, CL 9.90–12.34 mm, CW 12.13–15.27 mm, 3 females, CL 11.45–13.64 mm, CW 13.56–17.27 mm ( ZUTC 1123 ), Bandar-Khamir, Persian Gulf , 26°48′N, 55°19′E, rocky/coral, coll. R. Naderloo, 03.12.2005 ; 4 males, CL 8.99–13.34 mm, CW 10.43–14.57 mm, 5 females, CL 11.19–14.44 mm, CW 13.70–16.97 mm, Ramchah, Qeshm I., Persian Gulf , 26°53′N, 56°09′E, rocky intertidal, coll. N. Fahimi, 23.11.2019 ; 8 males, CL 9.14–12.84 mm, CW 11.23–14.10 mm, 5 females, CL 10.29–13.90 mm, CW 12.20–16.37 mm, Hengam I., Persian Gulf , 26°39′N, 55°52′E, rocky/coral intertidal, coll. N. Fahimi, 29.12.2019 .

Distribution. Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, South Africa, Pakistan.

Remarks. Pilumnopeus convexus ( Maccagno, 1936) , was originally described on the basis of two female specimens from Ethiopia ( Maccagno 1936: 1976). Davie (1989) redescribed this species from Ethiopia based on a female lectotype and illustrated carapace and chela. Since then, this species has been reported from various parts of the Red Sea ( Apel 2001) and the Persian Gulf ( Cooper 1997, Apel 2001; Naderloo 2017). Ward (1942), described Pilumnopeus salomonensis based on three males with carapace sizes of 14, 16, and 18 mm from the Island of Salomón in the Chagos Archipelago, but none of them was selected as holotype ( Ward 1942: 96, pl. 6 fig. 11). Davie (1989) proposed P. salomonensis Ward, 1942 as a synonym of P. convexus . Although he redescribed the type specimen of P. convexus , he could not do so for type material of P. salomonensis . Takeda & Miyake (1969: 127) suggested that the new record of Pilumnopeus indica ( De Man, 1887) from South Africa by Barnard (1955: 30, fig. 12) was probably P. salomonensis . Davie (1989a: 143) acknowledged that Barnard’s identification was incorrect but stated that this was P. convexus . Ghory et al. (2013) commented that P. convexus and P. salomonensis are synonyms. Wong et al. (2020) recorded P. convexus from Hong Kong together with a detailed taxonomical account in which they showed that P. vauquelini (Audouin, 1826) and P. salomonensis are junior synonyms of P. convexus . On the Iranian coast, we found two morphotypes of P. convexus , with one in mud flat habitat and the other occurring on rocky and cobble shores. They show some differences in convexity of the carapace, setation and cheliped morphology, but molecular analyses didn’t indicate their distinctiveness. Of course, we need more studies to confirm these results.