Hispidolambrus, Mclay, Colin L., 2009

Mclay, Colin L., 2009, Revision of the crab genus Garthambrus Ng, 1996, with the description of two new genera and discussion of the status of Tutankhamen Rathbun, 1925 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Parthenopidae), Zootaxa 2122, pp. 1-50 : 32

Hispidolambrus gen. nov.

Diagnosis. Carapace sub-triangular, wider than long, CW/CL ratio around 1.6, surface without lacunae and bearing large acute spines; no smooth ridges or plates. Hepatic margin angular, forming a prominent shoulder and bearing a long spine. Anterior epibranchial margin partially covering walking legs, divided into two sections, both armed with evenly spaced spines. Posterior carapace margin armed with prominent spines. Chelipeds almost three times CL, fingers dentate, down-curved, upper margin of dactylus spinose. Margins of ambulatory pereopods densely spinose.

Merus of third maxilliped subquadrate, wider than long, with prominent angled spinose ridge that continues across basis-ischium; mesial margin straight lateral margin tuberculate; carpus, propodus and dactylus exposed; exopod exposed, mesial margin distal one-third with tooth.

Male thoracic sternum fused, tuberculate, depressed; transverse and longitudinal grooves present, fused medially, forming inverted V-shaped depression. Male telson triangular wider than long. G1 relatively stout, curved distally, tip rounded, armed with short stiff setae. G2 longer than G1; flagellum subequal to basal section.

Type species: Asterolambrus mironovi Zarenkov, 1990 , by monotypy.

Etymology. This generic name derived from the Latin “hispidus”, an adjective meaning “beset with stiff hairs or bristles”, alluding to the accentuated spines covering the body and limbs. The name is an arbitrary combination with Lambrus , a common suffix for many parthenopid genera.

Remarks. Although Hispidolambrus mironovi resembles some species of Garthambrus in its body shape, the structure of the anterior epibranchial margin and the many spinose features are not found in any of the species in that genus. In their synopsis of the genera of the Parthenopinae MacLeay, 1838 , Tan & Ng (2007) include a new genus Spinolambrus Tan & Ng, 2007 . This genus includes nine spinose species that are found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas (seven species) and eastern Pacific (two species). Hispidolambrus mironovi also comes from the eastern Pacific, but is unlikely to be confused with either S. exilipes (Rathbun, 1894) or S. johngarthi (Hendrickx & Landa-Jaime, 1997) because the Spinolambrus species all have an ovoid-shaped body, which does not cover the meri of the ambulatory pereopods, and there is no shoulder on the hepatic margin. While Hispidolambrus might prove to be closely related to Garthambrus , any relationship with Spinolambrus seems more distant.