The deep-sea spiny lobster genus Puerulus Ortmann, 1897 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Palinuridae), with descriptions of five new species

Abstract

Recent French deep-sea expeditions in the Indo-West Pacific resulted in the collection of abundant material of the deep-sea lobster genus Puerulus Ortmann, 1897 (Palinuridae). Difficulties in identification necessitated a generic revision and as a result, five new species are described, all of which are similar to P. angulatus (Bate, 1888). Puerulus angulatus was thought to have a wide distribution from eastern Africa to Marquesas Islands, but is now restricted to the western Pacific, from Japan to Australia. Of the five new species, P. gibbosus n. sp. is found in eastern Africa, P. mesodontus n. sp. from Japan to Fiji, P. richeri n. sp. from the New Caledonia to Marquesas Islands, while P. sericus n. sp. and P. quadridentis n. sp. mainly occur around New Caledonia. Of the other three previously described species, the distribution of P. velutinus Holthuis, 1963, is extended to Fiji, while P. sewelli Ramadan, 1938, and P. carinatus Borradaile, 1910, are still only known from the northern and western parts of the Indian Ocean, respectively. COI gene sequence differences support the morphological species distinctions.