Micropagurus polynesiensis ( Nobili, 1906 )

Komai, Tomoyuki, Rahayu, Dwi Listyo & Fujita, Yoshihisa, 2021, Hermit crabs of the family Paguridae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) from Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean Territory of Australia, with descriptions of three new species and reappraisal of the genus Kumepagurus Komai & Osawa, 2012, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 69, pp. 378-402 : 391

Micropagurus polynesiensis ( Nobili, 1906)

( Fig. 8A )

Anapagurus polynesiensis Nobili, 1906: 260 ; 1907: 372, pl. 1 fig. 10; Forest, 1956: 1056.

Micropagurus polynesiensis – Haig & Ball, 1988: 184; Asakura, 2005: 21 , figs. 14–18, 19A–C, 20; Arima, 2014: 202, unnumbered figs.

Micropagurus vexatus Haig & Ball, 1988: 181 , figs. 11, 12; Morgan, 1992: 165; Davie, 2002: 80.

Material examined. COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS. ZRC 2021.0632 , 1 male (sl 1.7 mm; photo), CK11, Lion Cave Point , W of Direction Island, 12°05.335′S, 96°52.353′E ,

30.9 m, 21 March 2011; QM W29562, 1 male (sl 1.4 mm), CK18, the Rip , SW of Direction Island, 12°05.675′E, 96°53.175′E , 5.7 m, 22 March 2011.

Distribution. Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific: Seychelles, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Loyalty Islands, and New Caledonia; shallow subtidal to 55 m ( Asakura, 2005). Morgan (1992) recorded this species from Cocos (Keeling) Islands (as M. vexatus ) and Davie (2002) included Christmas Island in the distribution of the species (as M. vexatus ).

Remarks. In his revision of Micropagurus, Asakura (2005) clarified that M. polynesiensis was a junior subjective synonym of M. vexatus . Consequently, previous records of M. vexatus from the study area ( Morgan, 1992; Davie, 2002) are referred to M. polynesiensis .

As has been demonstrated by Asakura (2005), the living colouration of the species is substantially variable. The specimen shown in Fig. 8A (ZRC 2021.0632, male, sl 1.7 mm) shows generally whitish overall colour.

Figures

Fig. 8. Habitus in dorsal view, showing living colouration. A, Micropagurus polynesiensis (Nobili, 1905), ZRC 2021.0632, male (sl 1.7 mm); B, Pagurixus carinimanus Komai & Osawa, 2006, ZRC 2021.0635, male (sl 2.0 mm); C, Pagurixus haigae Komai & Osawa, 2007, ZRC 2021.0647, male (sl 1.4 mm); D, Pagurixus maorus (Nobili, 1906), ZRC 2021.0638, female (sl 3.9 mm). Photographs by LKCNHM.