Hsi-Te Shih

National Chung Hsing University | NCHU · Department of Life Sciences

A new species of varunid crab genus Parahelice, Parahelice schubarti sp. nov., is described from Sulawesi, Indonesia. This new species can be distinguished from other species in Parahelice and Pseudohelice by the characters of its male suborbital cristae, chelipeds, and first gonopod. Additionally, support for this new species is provided by molecu...

The Indo-West Pacific region has a rich fiddler crab fauna. In East Asia, some species of fiddler crabs, such as Tubuca coarctata (H. Milne Edwards, 1852) and T. dussumieri (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), are considered insular, being present in the Philippines, Taiwan, and Ryukyus, but with no consistent record on continental China. Although T. dussumie...

Ptychognathus Stimpson, 1858 is a speciose genus in the family Varunidae, widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific. Although species of Ptychognathus are common in estuaries with low salinity, some species are difficult to be identified correctly because of their small body size and similar morphology. This study describes one new species, Ptych...

The genera Parahelice K. Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, and Pseudohelice K. Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, are widely distributed in estuarine, mudflats, or mangroves in the Indo-West Pacific, and species of them are often sympatric. Species identification of the two genera is generally difficult, mainly due to the similar morphology and large intraspeci...

A new miniature species of freshwater crab from the genus Tiwaripotamon Bott, 1970 (Potamidae), is described from a montane karst area in southern Napo, at the China-Vietnam border. It is the twelfth known species of the genus, and is also the smallest known, with the largest adult specimen observed barely exceeding 20 mm in carapace width. Apart f...

Species of Parapyxidognathus Ward, 1941 are distributed across tropical Indo-West Pacific to temperate downstream rivers and in estuaries. The genus previously included only one species, Parapyxidognathus deianira (De Man, 1888). We examined specimens from Parapyxidognathus and its closely related genus, Pyxidognathus A. Milne-Edwards, 1879 from th...

The crab species of the family Portunidae are a diverse group in marine environments in which they inhabit estuaries, rocky shores, and coral reefs in the intertidal and subtidal zones. Dongsha Island, located in the northern South China Sea, has various habitats with high diversity of portunids. Previously, 20 species belonging to nine genera in t...

The sentinel crab, Macrophthalmus (Venitus) barnesi Serène, 1971, is newly reported from Penghu, Taiwan. Its habitat is the subtidal area at a depth of 1-30 meters, with soft muddy sediment. This species can be distinguished from other species of this subgenus by the adult size, carapace surface, anterolateral teeth of carapace, ambulatory legs, an...

Geothelphusa laowang n. sp., is a new freshwater crab described from the montane area of the Central Range in southern Taiwan based on the evidence from the morphological characters and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I. This species is distinguished from similar congeners by the morphology of the male first gonopod and the proportions of...

Two species of land hermit crabs, Coenobita longitarsis De Man, 1902 and C. pseudorugosus Nakasone, 1988 were described based on female specimens from Maluku, Indonesia and specimens from Cebu, the Philippines, respectively. However, no confirmed records of either species have been reported since their original descriptions. In this study, we exami...

A new freshwater crab of the potamid genus Candidiopotamon Bott, 1967, is described from eastern Taiwan. Candidiopotamon penglai sp. nov. is morphologically similar to C. rathbuni (De Man, 1914) from western Taiwan, but can be distinguished by the morphology of the male first gonopod (G1), as well as by their mitochondrial DNA (16S rRNA and COI gen...

We redescribe a species of fiddler crab, Minuca panema (Coelho, 1972), from the Atlantic coast of South America. Until now, the taxon has been considered to be synonymous with a closely related species Minuca burgersi (Holthuis, 1967). We found two clades of M. burgersi sensu lato to be restricted to the Caribbean Basin while M. panema occurs along...

The freshwater crabs Geothelphusa tawu Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, G. lutao Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994 and G. lanyu Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994 from southern Taiwan and the offshore islets, Lyudao (Green I.) and Lanyu (Orchid I.) are closely related in morphology and genetics, and have been proposed to be the same species. Examination of a series of specimens collected fro...

Parasesarma bidens (De Haan, 1835) is a common intertidal sesarmid crab that inhabits the estuarine and mangrove regions of East Asia, as well as Vietnam and the Philippines. Previous studies have suggested that P. bidens is a species complex composed of several species. Our ndings indicated that the P. bidens species complex is monophyletic with s...

The taxonomy of the gecarcinid land crab Tuerkayana rotundum (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) is revised. The taxon, the type species of the genus, occurs from the western Indian Ocean to the western Pacific, and varies substantially in colour and various morphological features, but the male first gonopod structure is constant and the extensive genetic data...

The fiddler crab Tubuca arcuata (Crustacea: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) is widely distributed across East Asia and northern Vietnam. Particularly, this species inhabits estuarine mangroves and mudflats of the East Asian continent, as well as the main islands of Japan and the Ryukyus. By comparing sequences of the mitochondrial 16S, cytochrome oxidase...

Xeruca formosensis is a species and genus of fiddler crab endemic to Taiwan, with limited distribution in western Taiwan and the offshore Penghu Islands. This study reports the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of this species using next-generation sequencing. The mitogenome contains 15,684 bp, comprising 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNAs,...

Fiddler crabs (Brachyura: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) in Taiwan consist of 5 genera and 15 species, but knowledge of their larval development is limited to just 3 species, namely Austruca lactea, Tubuca arcuata, and Xeruca formosensis. In our study, the morphology of the first zoeal stage (zoea I) of the 15 species is described and compared to previou...

Based on recently collected material and records in the literature, 14 species of fiddler crabs (Crustacea: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) are reported from Vietnam. DNA barcoding analyses using the mitochondrial gene COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) was performed to identify examined materials and their precise distributional range. Thirteen species...

Nine species of fiddler crabs (Crustacea: Ocypodidae: Gelasiminae) are known from the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and Arabian/Persian Gulf): five species of Austruca, one Cranuca, two Gelasimus and one Tubuca. COI sequence data match morphological species boundaries and shows high connectivity within each. T...

Fiddler crabs are a fantastic group of intertidal brachyuran crabs, and the research fields focused on their biodiversity, phylogeography, phylogenomics, and larval biology are still in developing stages. In this special issue, seven articles are included focusing on the diversity, phylogeography, mitogenome phylogeny and larval morphology of fiddl...

A new pseudocryptic species of the varunid crab genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, is described from India based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species was collected from higher intertidal zones in the Vellar River estuary, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India, in a habitat composed of muddy and sandy sediment. Pseudohelice...

Members of the genus Pseudohelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006 (family Varunidae) inhabit estuaries and high intertidal zone with sediments composed of mud and sand in tropical to temperate regions. Previous studies showed only one species, Pseudohelice subquadrata (Dana, 1851) in this genus, with a wide distribution in the Indo-West Pacific. In the...

Abstract The brackish-water crabs of the genus Ptychognathus Stimpson, 1858, the most diverse genus in the family Varunidae, inhabit the estuaries or seashores influenced by freshwater. Ptychognathus sakaii, a new species from Kenting, southern Taiwan, is described in this study, with a comprehensive key to the ten species of this genus from Taiwan...

A new freshwater crab is described from the montane area in northeastern Taiwan based on morphological and molecular evidence. Geothelphusa boreas sp. nov., from the Fushan Botanical Garden situated around New Taipei City and Yilan County, is distinct from similar congeners by the structure of the male first gonopod and the proportions of the male...

The swimming crabs (family Portunidae) are distributed worldwide and commonly inhabit estuaries, mangroves, reefs, shallow and the deep sea. Previously, 75 species and 19 genera in this family were known to Taiwan. Our study examined specimens in Taiwanese waters, including the islands, collected between 2016 and 2020 or deposited in museums. Throu...

Two morphologically distinct new species of Nanhaipotamon Bott, 1968, are described from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, southern China. The smooth carapace and lack of flagellum on the third maxilliped exopod immediately separate N. incendium n. sp. from all other known Nanhaipotamon. It is also the first species of this genus to be recorded from a r...

For this study, in addition to museum vouchers, 1437 specimens of Minuca burgersi (Holthuis, 1967) were collected from crab colonies at 105 locations in the western Atlantic Ocean to examine diversity in a species with a large geographic range. Both allometric and geometric morphometry were coupled with the molecular analysis of DNA to give a broad...

The nomenclature of two ocypodid names, Cancer vocans minor Herbst, 1782 and Gelasimus caerulens Adams, 1847, is discussed, because their identities have remained unresolved. The former is identified with Gelasimus annulipes H. Milne Edwards, 1837, and the latter with Mesuca ( Latuca ) paradussumieri Bott, 1973. To conserve the current and widespre...

A new genus and new species of blind freshwater cave crab are described from Chongzuo City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China based on morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. The new genus, Phasmon gen. nov., is established for P. typhlops sp. nov., which is only the second blind cave crab known from China and East Asia. The combinat...

The poorly known genus Lacunipotamon Dai, Song, He, Cao, Xu & Zhong, 1975, is studied and reviewed. Two new species, Lacunipotamon yuanshi sp. nov. and Lacunipotamon cymatile sp. nov. from Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, respectively, are described based on morphology and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequ...

Species in the brackish crab genus Ptychognathus are common in the seashore and estuary habitats with freshwater input. Due to their similar morphologies and dull colorations, it is always difficult to distinguish the species in this genus. In this study, the DNA barcode gene COI (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) was used to help identify Ptychognat...

The identity of the widely distributed mangrove and riverine sesarmid crab Sesarmops impressus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) is clarified. The species has been reported from Madagascar to the South Pacific, but its taxonomy was previously confused. On the basis of morphological characters and available molecular evidence (using 16S rDNA and cytochrome o...

A new species of fiddler crab, Austruca citrus n. sp. from Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, and Samoa, in the South Pacific is described based on morphological and molecular evidence. This species is closely related to Austruca perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), but can be distinguished by a suite of characters, including adult size, carapace morphology, sha...

Two new species of a new genus, Tortomon puer n. gen. n. sp. and T. gejiu n. gen. n. sp. are described from southern Yunnan, southwestern China, based on the morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. The new genus resembles Tenuipotamon Dai, 1990 and Parvuspotamon Dai & Bo, 1994, but can be separated by characters of the male thoracic sternu...

The genera Bresedium Serène and Soh, 1970 and Sesarmops Serène and Soh, 1970 are two closely related taxa inhabiting terrestrial or freshwater environments from the Indo-West Pacific. Based on morphological and molecular evidence, two new species from Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia are described in this study, viz. B. eurypleon n. sp. and S....

Species of the varunid genus Parahelice Sakai, Türkay & Yang, 2006, inhabit high intertidal areas of oceanic islands of the tropical Indo-West Pacific region. As several species of Parahelice and Pseudohelice subquadrata (Dana, 1851) were found to be sympatric in some places, and their morphological differences are minor, especially in females, the...

Three new coastal crabs, Parasesarma aurifrons n. sp., P. sanguimanus n. sp. and P. gemmatum n. sp. (Sesarmidae), are described from Taiwan and the Philippines. Parasesarma aurifrons is morphologically similar to P. ungulatum (H. Milne Edwards, 1853), P. liho Koller, Liu & Schubart, 2010, and P. obliquefrons (Rathbun, 1924); P. sanguimanus most clo...

The poorly known sesarmid crab Sesarma (Holometopus) tangi Rathbun, 1931 was described from one male from Fujian, China, and was transferred to Neosarmatium Serène & Soh, 1970 by Schubart & Ng (2002). The collection of a good series of fresh specimens from near the type locality and Hong Kong allows us to reappraise its taxonomy. The new material s...

Eight species from seven genera of crabs from two families are reported for the first time from the coastal areas of Taiwan, including estuaries, coral reefs and sandy beaches. These are Clistocoeloma balansae A. Milne-Edwards, 1873, C. villosum (A. Milne-Edwards, 1869) and Parasesarma ungulatum (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) of the Sesarmidae; and Cyclo...

Intertidal mudflat crabs of the genus Metaplax H. Milne Edwards, 1852 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Varuni-dae) from China, Taiwan, and northern Vietnam are taxonomically revised by morphological and molecular evidence. These crabs show sexual dimorphism and morphological variation of a considerable range in the infraorbital ridge, one of the primary feat...

Parasesarma liho Koller, Liu & Schubart, 2010 and P. cognatum Rahayu & Li, 2013 from East and Southeast Asia are similar species that have been confused in several studies. Here, we re-examined the type specimens of both species and found identical main characters, which is supported by the molecular identity of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase...

The identity of the fiddler crab, Gelasimus variegatus Heller, 1862 (type locality: Madras, India), has long been uncertain. Examination of specimens from the Bay of Bengal shows that it is a valid species belonging to the genus Austruca Bott, 1973. Austruca variegata (Heller, 1862) can be separated from the closely related A. bengali (Crane, 1975)...

A new species of landlocked freshwater shrimp, Neocaridina fonticulata sp. n. (Atyidae), is described from Kenting, Hengchun Peninsula, Pingtung County, southern Taiwan. This new species can be distinguished from its congeners by rostrum structure, pereiopods, and male first and second pleopods. The molecular evidence of mitochondrial cytochrome ox...

Ssu-Li Chen and Hsi-Te Shih (2018) The harvestman genus Metadentobunus is endemic to Taiwan, and has two taxa, M. formosae formosae Roewer, 1915 and M. formosae garampiensis Suzuki, 1944. The two subspecies have been raised as two species, and this study redescribes the type species M. formosae based on the type specimen and a neotype of M. garampi...

We describe two new genera and two new species of freshwater crabs, Megapleonum ehuangzhangn. gen., n. sp. and Luteomon spinapodumn. gen., n. sp., from Guangdong Province, China, based on morphology and mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. Megapleonumn. gen. is similar in external appearance to CantopotamonHuang, Ahyong & Shih, 2017 and LongpotamonShi...

Helice epicure, a new species of varunid crab, is described from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. The new species in the genus Helice De Haan, 1833 can be distinguished from its congeners by morphological differences in the chelae and suborbital crenulation. The morphological differences between the new species and a sister clade (the H. latimera complex...

A new pseudocryptic species of fiddler crab, Tubuca alcocki sp. n., is described from the northern Indian Ocean. The new species was previously identified with T. urvillei (H. Milne Edwards, 1852), but can be distinguished by the structures of the anterolateral angle of the carapace and male first gonopod. The molecular data of the mitochondrial cy...

The identities of what have been referred to as Epigrapsus notatus (Heller, 1865) and E. villosus Ng, 2003, are evaluated using morphological and molecular methods. Morphological comparisons showed that the main characters used to diagnose E. villosus (viz. the setation of the carapace, the condition of the epigastric cristae, the granulation on th...

Pea crabs of the superfamily Pinnotheroidea De Haan, 1833 are known for their obligate commensal relationships with other marine invertebrates. The concomitant specialisations and adaptations of pinnotheroids have resulted in superficially similar body forms that include a high degree of structural reduction. This has confounded interpretation of t...

A classic dilemma in taxonomy is distinguishing intraspecific from interspecific variation. In order to better comprehend the process of divergence and speciation, we examine morphological, genetic, developmental and behavioural variation among related fiddler crab populations from eastern North America, the Caribbean and South America. We chose ge...

Chao Huang, Shane T. Ahyong, and Hsi-Te Shih (2017) A new genus and four new species of freshwater crab, Cantopotamon zhuhaiense n. gen., n. sp., C. shangchuanense n. gen., n. sp., C. hengqinense n. gen., n. sp. and C. yangxiense n. gen., n. sp. are described from Guangdong, China, based on morphology and two mitochondrial markers (16S rDNA and cyt...

Hsi-Te Shih, Yixiong Cai, Nobuaki Niwa, and Yasuhiko Nakahara (2017) A new species of landlocked freshwater shrimp, Neocaridina ikiensis (Decapoda: Caridea: Atyidae), is described from Iki Island, Kyushu, Japan, based on morphological and molecular evidence. This new species can be distinguished from its congeners by a suite of characters, includin...

Four new species of earthworms of the genus Amynthas are described from Taiwan. Amynthas lalashan n. sp. has two pairs of large genital markings medial to male porophores at the presetal portions on segments xviii and xix; the genital marking on segment xviii is closely adjacent to the male pore. Amynthas fusing n. sp. has a large C-shaped genital...

Three new species of Opiliones are delimited and described from central and northern Taiwan based on morphological and molecular evidence. Pseudogagrella dorsomaculata sp. nov., collected from the Dasyueshan Forest Recreation Area, Heping, Taichung, resembles P. andoi Suzuki 1977, but can be recognized by the different pattern of the first abdomina...

A new genus and species of freshwater crab, Diyutamon cereum n. gen., n. sp., is described from a cave in Guizhou, China. This is the first record of a true stygomorphic crab from China and East Asia, possessing pale body coloration, strongly reduced eyes, and long ambulatory legs. While superficially similar to Chinapotamon Dai & Naiyanetr, 1994,...

The gecarcinid genus Gecarcoidea H. Milne Edwards, 1837 is currently represented by two species from the Indo-West Pacific - the widely distributed purple land crab, G. lalandii H. Milne Edwards, 1837, and the red crab endemic to Christmas Island, G. natalis (Pocock, 1889). One species, G. humei (Wood-Mason, 1874), described from the Nicobar Island...

We report for the first time the complete mitochondrial genome of Sinopotamon xiushuiense, which is found to be 18,460 bp in length, and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA), and 1 non-coding region known as the D-loop. In addition, the mitogenome has 18 intergenic regions ranging from 1 to 1...

A new genus and new species of pinnotheroid crab of the family Aphanodactylidae, Ankerius aenigmaticus n. sp., is described from the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia. The genus is unusual among aphanodactylids in possessing more gaping third maxillipeds, strongly spiniform chelipeds and ambulatory legs, as well as a relatively longer ambulatory dactyl...

A new genus and species of freshwater crab, Yuebeipotamon calciatile gen. n., sp. n., is described from southern China. While the carapace features are superficially similar to species of Sinopotamon Bott, 1967, Longpotamon Shih, Huang & Ng, 2016, and Tenuilapotamon Dai, Song, Li, Chen, Wang & Hu, 1984, the new genus possesses a distinctive combina...

A new freshwater crab species of the family Potamidae is described from the boundaries of northern Vietnam and southern China. Tiwaripotamon pluviosum sp. nov. can be distinguished from other species by a suite of morphological characters, including a relatively flat carapace, relatively less slender legs, and distinct dorsal flaps on the male firs...

The family Ocypodidae is a group of intertidal brachyuran crabs found in tropical to temperate seas worldwide. While the family has historically included many subfamilies, most of these have now been given separate family status within the superfamily Ocypodoidea. The most recent classification recognises only two subfamilies, the ghost crabs: Ocyp...

Freshwater crabs of the genus Sinopotamon Bott, 1967 (family Potamidae) are widely distributed along the Yangtze River (= Chang Jiang) drainage and are endemic to China. Two distinct clades can be distinguished within Sinopotamon s. lato. on the basis of morphological and molecular data. One clade corresponds to Sinopotamon s. str., with the type s...

The sentinel crabs, Chaenostoma orientale Stimpson, 1858, and C. crassimanus Stimpson, 1858, were both described from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and have both been long considered junior synonyms of C. boscii (Audouin, 1826). After examining specimens of the C. boscii species-complex from East Africa, the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, New Caledonia,...

The fiddler crabs, genus Uca Leach, 1814 (Decapoda, Ocypodidae) of Taiwan, including the offshore islands of Penghu (Pescadores), Kinmen (Quemoy), Matsu (Matzu), and Dongsha (Pratas), are revised, with the recognition of five subgenera and 15 species, viz. Uca (Austruca) Bott, 1973: U. lactea (De Haan, 1835), U. perplexa (H. Milne Edwards, 1837), U...