Appukuttannair Biju Kumar

Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) keralaensis sp. nov. (Rhabdochonidae) and some other nematodes in the Indian mottled eel Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis from India

A new species of parasitic nematode, Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) keralaensis sp. nov., is described based on specimens recovered from the intestine of Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis (Gray) collected from the freshwater bodies of Kerala State, southern India. It is characterized mainly by the presence of ten anterior prostomal teeth, absence of basal teeth, simple deirids, length of spicules, number and arrangement of preanal papillae and non-filamented eggs. Two species of camallanid nematodes, adults of Camallanus cotti Fujita, 1927 and a single Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) sp. fourth-stage larva, were also recorded from A. bengalensis. Camallanus cotti, a pathogenic parasite of many species of wild and aquarium-reared fishes in many countries of South and East Asia, Europe, South and North America, West Indies and Australia, is reported for the first time from a representative of the fish family Anguillidae. Descriptions of R. (R.) keralaensis and Indian specimens of C. cotti, based on light and scanning electron microscopical examinations, are provided. Camallanus oxygasterae Gupta et Bakshi, 1983 is considered a junior synonym of C. cotti.

Carcinoplax fasciata , a new species of deep-water goneplacid crab from southwestern India (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Goneplacoidea)

A new species of Carcinoplax H. Milne Edwards, 1852 (family Goneplacidae) is described from southern India. Carcinoplax fasciata n. sp. is closest to C. specularis Rathbun, 1914, but can be distinguished by its different coloration in life as well as structures of the carapace surface, anterolateral armature, supraorbital margin, chela and male first gonopod.

A new species of the hermit crab genus Paguristes Dana, 1851 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) from southwestern India

A new species of the hermit crab genus Paguristes Dana, 1851 (Diogenidae), P. luculentus, is described and illustrated on the basis of three male specimens collected from off the Kerala State, southwestern India. It belongs to the species group characterized by the posterior lobes of the telson unarmed on the terminal margins, but the characteristic armature of the chelae and carpi of the chelipeds, consisting of a covering of numerous small corneous-tipped spines, and the presence of numerous small corneous-tipped or corneous spines on the mesial faces of the dactyli of the second pereopods immediately distinguish the new species from other congeneric species. The new species represents the ninth of the genus known from Indian waters.

A new species of the hermit crab genus Diogenes (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) from southern India.

A new species of the hermit crab genus Diogenes Dana, 1851 (Diogenidae), D. canaliculatus, is described and illustrated on the basis of material from off the Kerala State, southern India. It is referred to the D. edwardsii (De Haan, 1849) species group, and compared with D. bicristimanus Alcock, 1905, D. fasciatus Rahayu & Forest, 1995, D. laevicarpus Rahayu, 1996 and D. moosai Rahayu & Forest, 1995. The characteristically sculptured left chela and the unarmed dorsal margins of the propodi of the second and third pereopods distinguish the new species from these congeners.

Observations on nematodes from the Indonesian shortfin eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor McClelland in India, including a revalidation of Heliconema ahiri Karve, 1941 (Physalopteridae).

Two species of parasitic nematodes, Heliconema ahiri Karve, 1941 (Physalopteridae) and Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) anguillae Moravec et al., 2006 (Camallanidae), were recorded from the Indonesian shortfin eel Anguilla bicolor bicolor Mc-Clelland in the Chalakkudi River and Veli Lake, respectively, both Kerala, India. The former species (H. ahiri), rediscovered from eels in India after 82 years from its original description, has been redescribed and revalidated based on its specific feature (presence of groups of minute denticles in the mouth) distinguishing it from other congeners; its finding in A. b. bicolor represents a new host record. The latter species (P. anguillae) has been recorded in India for the first time. SEM examination of its first-stage larvae from uterus has shown that P. anguillae is another species of Procamallanus whose larvae possess a crown of digit-like processes at the tail tip.

Typhlocarcinus kerala , a new species of rhizopine crab from southwestern India, and the identity of T. craterifer Rathbun, 1914 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Pilumnidae)

A new species of rhizopine crab of the genus Typhlocarcinus Stimpson, 1858 (family Pilumnidae), is described from southwestern India. Typhlocarcinus kerala sp. nov. is characterised by its granular carapace with the dorsal regions well demarcated and the gastro-cardiac grooves deep, the anterolateral margin entire and prominently granulated, the posterolateral margin lacks a low granulated lobe, proportions of the ambulatory legs and shape of the female telson.

A new species of pouched octopus, Cistopus Gray, 1849 (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from the southwest coast of India

Octopuses of the genus Cistopus Gray, 1849 are commercially valuable catches in the cephalopod fisheries of India. The primary and unique diagnostic character of this genus is the possession of eight small mucous pouches embedded in the oral faces of the webs between the bases of each arm. Historically only a single species of Cistopus, C. indicus, had been reported from Indian waters. In reviewing the octopod fauna off the Kerala coast, we have detected three species of Cistopus, of which one is described here as a new species. Cistopus platinoidus sp. nov. is distinct from Cistopus species described to date (C. indicus, C. taiwanicus and C. chinensis) on the basis of sucker counts, the number and position of enlarged suckers in males, and presence/absence of a calamus. Our studies of catch composition of Kerala octopod fisheries indicate a higher diversity of target species than previously suspected, including a number of undescribed species. Taxonomic resolution and collation of biological and distributional data are required for effective monitoring and management of these valuable fisheries.

First records of seven species of mantis shrimp from India (Crustacea: Stomatopoda)

The Stomatopoda of India is comparatively well studied, with 79 species recorded to date. We herein report on a series of stomatopods collected by commercial fishing trawlers from localities on the southwest and southeastern coasts of India. The present series includes 17 species of stomatopods collected as trawl bycatch; seven are the first Indian records: Lysiosquillina lisa Ahyong Randall, 2001, Odontodactylus cultrifer (White, 1951), O. japonicus (De Haan, 1844), Faughnia formosae Manning Chan, 1997, Busquilla plantei Manning, 1978, Carinosquilla spinosa Ahyong Naiyanetr, 2002, and Quollastria kapala Ahyong, 2001. Faughnia formosae is the first member of the superfamily Parasquilloidea to be recorded from India. We also show that Acanthosquilla dighaensis Ghosh, 1998, is a junior synonym of Bigelowina phalangium (Fabricius, 1798), described from Bombay but widespread in Indian waters.

A new species of the hermit crab genus Diogenes Dana, 1851 (Decapoda: Anomura: Diogenidae) from southern India

A new species of the hermit crab genus Diogenes Dana, 1851, D. spongicola, is described and illustrated on the basis of material collected from two locations off southern India. It appears close to D. takedai Rahayu, 2012 among about 70 congeners, but easily differentiated from the latter by the spinulose anterolateral margins of the shield, the article 2 of the antennal peduncle armed only with one distal spine, the longer, spinose antennal acicle, the absence of prominent spines on the ventrolateral margin of the cheliped meri, and the different color of the cheliped palm. Specimens of the new species were all collected from cavities of a callyspongiid sponge Callyspongia diffusa (Ridley, 1884), suggesting a possible association between the hermit crab and sponge.

Photophore counts in the deep-sea commercial shrimp Aristeus alcocki Ramadan, 1938 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Aristeidae), with a revised key to the Indo-West Pacific species of the genus

The availability of abundant fresh material of Aristeus alcocki Ramadan, 1938 from India allowed the evaluation of the variation in the numbers of photophores on the pereiopods in this species, as well as other diagnostic characters for species discrimination. Although the pereiopodal photophore counts in A. alcocki largely overlap with those of A. semidentatus Bate, 1888, it is found that A. alcocki is unique in the Indo-West Pacific species of the genus by the lower end of the cervical carina considerably farther away from the branchiostegal carina. Molecular genetic analysis confirmed the distinct taxonomic status of the six currently known species in this genus from the Indo-West Pacific and a revised key is provided for distinguishing them.