Jhy-Yun Shy

Dead Shrimp Blues: A Global Assessment of Extinction Risk in Freshwater Shrimps (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea)

We present the first global assessment of extinction risk for a major group of freshwater invertebrates, caridean shrimps. The risk of extinction for all 763 species was assessed using the IUCN Red List criteria that include geographic ranges, habitats, ecology and past and present threats. The Indo-Malayan region holds over half of global species diversity, with a peak in Indo-China and southern China. Shrimps primarily inhabit flowing water; however, a significant subterranean component is present, which is more threatened than the surface fauna. Two species are extinct with a further 10 possibly extinct, and almost one third of species are either threatened or Near Threatened (NT). Threats to freshwater shrimps include agricultural and urban pollution impact over two-thirds of threatened and NT species. Invasive species and climate change have the greatest overall impact of all threats (based on combined timing, scope and severity of threats).

A new freshwater crab of the genus Geothelphusa (Brachyura, Potamidae) from southwestern Taiwan

This chapter describes Geothelphusa holthuisi sp. nov. (Brachyura: Potamidae), a new species of freshwater crab from southwestern Taiwan, on the basis of morphological and molecular evidence. Morphologically, this new species is similar to G. ferruginea Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, but differs in the shape of the male first gonopods, carapace and male abdomen. Although G. holthuisi occurs in southwestern Taiwan, west of the Central Range, the molecular data indicates it belongs with the clade from eastern Taiwan. This suggests that its ancestors dispersed from eastern Taiwan, across the montane Central Range. The chapter describes this new species and reveals its phylogenetic relationship with others. Keywords:Brachyura; freshwater crab; Geothelphusa holthuisi ; gonopods; Potamidae; southwestern Taiwan

Description of a new montane freshwater crab (Crustacea: Potamidae: Geothelphusa) from northern Taiwan.

A new freshwater crab is described from a montane area in northern Taiwan based on morphological characters and molecular evidence. Geothelphusa cilan sp. nov., from the Cilan Forest, situated on the boundary of Hsinchu and Yilan (= Ilan) counties, is close to G. monticola Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, and G. takuan Shy, Ng & Yu, 1994, but can be distinguished by its male first gonopod (G1) and the ratio of thoracic sternites. Molecular evidence from mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) also supports the identity of the new species.

A new record of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium spinipes (Schenkel, 1902) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Palaemonidae) from Taiwan, with notes on its taxonomy

The giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium spinipes (Schenkel, 1902) is recorded from Taiwan for the first time and extends the distribution of the species to north of the Tropic of Cancer. The Taiwanese specimens differ slightly from material from Indonesian Papua in the density of the spination of the adult second pereipods, the relative length of the ridge of the posterior submedian plate of thoracite sternite 4, and the color of the carapace, abdomen and pleural condyles.