On Plesionika quasigrandis Chace, 1985 (Decapoda, Caridea, Pandalidae) from southwestern India

Abstract

The recent development of commercial deep-sea fisheries in India has mainlybeen off the southern coast and is based on shrimps (Rajan et al., 2001; Kurup et al.,2008; Rajool Shanis et al., 2014b). One of the dominant species in these catches isa pandalid shrimp previously reported as “Parapandalus(orPlesionika)spinipes”(e.g., Suseelan & Mohamed, 1968; Suseelan, 1974; Rajan et al., 2001; Kurup etal., 2008; Rajool Shanis et al., 2012; with the genusParapandalusBorradaile,1899 now generally synonymized withPlesionikaBate, 1888 (see Chace, 1985;De Grave & Fransen, 2011). Rajool Shanis et al. (2014a, b) later showed that thisname was a misidentification ofPlesionika quasigrandisChace, 1985, which hasthe ventral rostral teeth more densely packed as opposed toP. spinipes, where thedorsal rostral teeth are more densely packed (see Chace, 1985; Chan & Crosnier,1991). AlthoughP. quasigrandisis one of the most important deep-sea shrimpsin India from a commercial point of view, no proper taxonomic account hasbeen given for the Indian material. The present study provides detailed taxonomicinformation ofP. quasigrandisfrom India, together with molecular barcoding data.