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Issue: Vol. 5757 No. 4: 9 Feb. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-02-09
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.6
Page range: 382-392
Abstract views: 32
PDF downloaded: 3

A new species of the squat lobster genus Galathea Fabricius, 1793 from Lakshadweep, India (Crustacea: Decapoda: Galatheidae)

ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow 226 002; India. Faculty of Fisheries Science; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies; Kochi 682 506; India.
ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow 226 002; India.
ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow 226 002; India. Faculty of Fisheries Science; Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies; Kochi 682 506; India.
Faculty of Marine Sciences; Annamalai University; Parangipettai 608 502; India.
ICAR - National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources; Lucknow 226 002; India.
Crustacea Arabian Sea Galatheid squat lobster Genetic divergence Indian Ocean Phylogeny

Abstract

A new species of galatheid squat lobster, Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. is described from Lakshadweep Island, India. The G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. belongs to the ‘G. mauritiana’ group, identified through having a pterygostomian flap with 1 or 2 spines and an uninterrupted mesogastric ridge. This group includes: G. acis Macpherson & Robainas-Barcia, 2015, G. aequata Macpherson & Robainas-Barcia, 2015, G. ahyongi Macpherson & Robainas-Barcia, 2015, G. mauritiana Bouvier, 1914 and G. senta Macpherson & Robainas-Barcia, 2015. The G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. resembles G. mauritiana Bouvier, 1914, but differs based on the presence of an epipod on P1, and P2 with propodus 4.2–4.7 times as long as wide and the merus with the proximal spine reaching or slightly over-reaching the distal margin of the article. Maximum Likelihood analysis of the new species, using mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase (COI) and 16S rRNA also supported the findings and suggests that G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. is closely related to G. mauritiana, with pairwise genetic distances estimated at 6.0–14.3 % (COI) and 3.1–16.9% (16S rRNA).

 

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How to Cite

Sureandiran, B., Divya, P., Naeem, U.M., Sundaramanickam, A. & Kumar, T.A. (2026) A new species of the squat lobster genus Galathea Fabricius, 1793 from Lakshadweep, India (Crustacea: Decapoda: Galatheidae). Zootaxa, 5757 (4), 382–392. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.6