Apel, M.; Spiridonov, V. A. (1998). Taxonomy and zoogeography of the portunid crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Portunidae) of the Arabian Gulf and adjacent waters. Fauna of Arabia. 17: 159-331.

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Apel, M.; Spiridonov, V. A.

1998

17: 159-331

Publication

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The portunid crab fauna of the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the south coast of Oman and Pakistan wasinvestigated on the basis of new collections, re-examination of historic collections and a detailed literature review. New materialis reported from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iranian waters and the coasts of the United Arab Emirates. In total, 48 speciesof portunids are considered reliably recorded from the investigated area, with at least 25 of them occurring in the Arabian Gulf.Six species (Carupa tenuipes, Lissocarcinus polybioides, Thalamita bandusia, Thalamita dakini, Thalamita quadrilobata andPortunus guinotae) are recorded for the first time from the area; three species within the genus Thalamita are described as new toscience. The taxonomy and distribution of the regional species were critically reviewed and corrected where necessary. For severalspecies lectotypes were designated from the type series to stabilise the usage of the corresponding names. The taxon Gonioinfra-dens, formerly considered a subgenus of Charybdis, was raised to generic rank and the usage of the subfamily Portuninae wasrestricted, while the subfamily Thalamitinae was revalidated.Zoogeographical analysis revealed that most of the species are widespread Indo-Pacific or Indo-West-Pacific forms. However, upto 25 % of the portunid species occurring within the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are confined to the area around theArabian Peninsula, thus confirming the existence of an Arabian zoogeographical region.

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