Albunea symmysta ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Boyko, Christopher B., 2010, New records and taxonomic data for 14 species of sand crabs (Crustacea: Anomura: Albuneidae) from localities worldwide, Zootaxa 2555, pp. 49-61 : 56-57

Albunea symmysta ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Albunea symnista [sic]. — Latreille, 1829: 74. — Garstang, 1897: 224 –227, pl. 14, fig. 4a, b. — Estampador, 1959: 59. Albunea symmysta . — Davie, 2002: 27. — Boyko, 2002: 303 –313, figs. 98, 99 (full synonymy). — Osawa et al., 2010:20 –21, fig.11.

? Albunea symnista [sic]. — Wang, 1991: 8, 24, 279. — Wang & Yang, 1994: 573. — Scholtz & Richter, 1995: 291. — Muraoka, 1998: 56. — Komai, 2000: 368 (list). — Wang & Yang, 2001: 351. — Wang, 2008: 748 (list).

Material examined. Madagascar: specific locality unknown, 1928, coll. Mme. Prevot: 1 male, 18.8 mm cl ( MNHN –Hi 149); India: Madras, 1874, coll. Rev. E. Jermyn: 1 female, 18.9 mm cl ( OUMNH 2008-09 - 0112); near Madras, 1899, coll. E. S. Goodrich: 1 immature female, 8.7 mm cl ( OUMNH 2008-09 -0111).

Distribution. East coast of India throughout southeast Asia to Taiwan, Queensland and Lord Howe Island, Australia, in up to 151.5 m depth ( Boyko 2002; Osawa et al. 2010); possibly from Madagascar (needs confirmation, see below).

Remarks. As with the Madagascan specimen of Albunea groeningi reported above, A. symmysta is otherwise unknown from Madagascar, or indeed any part of the western Indian Ocean (see distribution). The locality data on the handwritten (in pen) label accompanying this specimen reads only “ Madagascar ” with an identification of A. steinitzi Holthuis, 1958 . However, the label is clearly not original and consultation of the MNHN catalogue books provided no additional data. Thomassin (1969) reported this species from Madagascar, but examined no specimens nor cited any verifiable records from the literature (see Boyko 2002). In the absence of additional Madagascan material beyond the single specimen reported herein, I consider this a possible record of A. symmysta from Madagascar, but not a verified extension of the species’ range.

All of the above “?” citations of this species as Albunea “ symnista ” are possibly of this species but may well be misidentifications, especially the material from China. The specimen cited by Garstang (1897) from Madras, India, however, is clearly A. symmysta , based on direct examination of the specimen (OUMNH 2008- 09 -0112) upon which his illustration was based.