Urnalana whitei (Bell, 1855)

Manikandan, K, Megalaa, N, Valliappan, Subramanian, Nandini, K, Rani, Lourdu V, Dakshinamurthi, Senthil & Nagappan, Nagappan, 2022, Crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Seas of East and Southeast Asia Collected by the RV Hakuhō Maru (KH- 72 - 1 Cruise) 3. Sahul Shelf, Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Series A, Zoology 48 (2), pp. 35-83 : 44

Urnalana whitei (Bell, 1855)

( Fig. 1D )

Material examined. RV Hakuhō Maru KH-72-1 cruise, sta. 29, 1Ə ( CB 6.6×CL 7.2 mm), NSMT-Cr 30704.

Remarks. The following brief notes on the present young male ( Fig. 1D ) of Urnalana whitei are generally agreeable with the descriptions by Bell (1855a, b) and the detailed comparison with the close congener, U. cheverti (Haswell, 1880) made by Arnold and George (1987). The carapace lateral angle is strongly developed and overhanging the thoracic sinus as a thin plate; the carapace posterolateral and posterior margins are developed as a narrow, milled marginal plate; the carapace dorsal surface is wholly smooth, only with some granules on the hepatic and anterolateral regions. Both chelipeds are stout, same in size and shape; the merus is wholly covered with large spherical granules diminishing in size distally; the carpus is covered with smaller granules mainly on the outer surface; the palm is depressed. The specimen is identifiable as U. whitei by the following diagnostic features documented by Galil (2005): 1) the frontal margin of the carapace is tridentate; 2) the hepatic region of the carapace has low elevation with two pearly granules; 3) the outer margin of the chelipedal palm is crenulate.

Distribution. Hitherto known from Indonesia and Australia, 14–73 m depth and probably from the Philippines ( Tan, 1996).

Figures

Fig. 1.ɹA–C: Cryptodromia amboinensis De Man, ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30697; CB 4.5×CL 4.2mm) from sta. 29. Dorsal (A), frontal (B) and frontal upper (C) views. D: Urnalana whitei (Bell), ♂ (NSMT-Cr 30704; CB 6.6×CL 7.2mm) from sta. 29. E: Myra australis Haswell, ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30703; CB 9.7×CL 11.1mm including posterior tubercle) from sta. 29. F: Drachiella morum (Alcock), ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30701; CB 8.0×CL 7.0mm) from sta. 29.