Areopaguristes, a generic replacement name for Stratiotes Thomson, 1899 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguroidea: Diogenidae)

Abstract

Two species of Paguristes Dana, 1851 occurring in New Zealand waters, P. pilosus H. Milne Edwards, 1836 and P. setosus H. Milne Edwards, 1848, were the sources of errors and considerable confusion for many years. The misunderstanding regarding the identities of these taxa was further compounded by Filhol (1885) when he published a description of P. setosus Filhol, 1885, not realizing that this species had previously been published by H. Milne Edwards (1848) [see Forest & McLaughlin (2000: 77) for a historical account]. In his revision of the Anomura of New Zealand, Thomson (1899) redescribed Filhol’s Pagurus setosus, assigning it to his new genus Stratiotes Thomson as the type species. Although Alcock (1905) and Thompson (1930) expressed doubt about the validity of Stratiotes, it was not until Forest & McLaughlin (2000) reviewed all of the New Zealand species assignable to Paguristes, that Stratiotes was placed in synonymy with Dana’s taxon. However, when Rahayu (2005) found the gill number of Paguristes species in the collection of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris variable, she restricted Paguristes to species having 13 pairs of gills and reinstated Stratiotes for species with only 12 pairs. Unfortunately Stratiotes Thomson recently was found to be a junior homonym of Stratiotes Putzeys, 1846, (Coleoptera) and a replacement name became necessary. Areopaguristes is proposed as the replacement name; from the Greek Ares, the God of War, in combination with Paguristes. As Stratiotes means soldier, the proposed replacement name maintains the original sense of combat, while identifying the genus as closely allied to Paguristes s.s.; gender masculine. The type species, Pagurus setosus, is unchanged.