TWO SIMILAR SPECIES: PLESIONIKA EDWARDSII (BRANDT, 1851) AND PLESIONIKA CROSNIERI, NEW SPECIES (CRUSTACEA: DECAPODA: PANDALIDAE)

Abstract

Two species previously confounded under the name Plesionika edwardsii (Brandt, 1851) are recognized from the Indo-Pacific region, one bearing more than one post-rostral tooth is also found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, while the other with only a single post-rostral tooth is known only from the Indo-Pacific. Although the type of P. edwardsii probably cannot be now verified, the type locality is selected as the Mediterranean. A reexamination of the syntypes of P. longirostris (Borradaile, 1900) from New Britain proved that it is a junior synonym of P. edwardsii. The Indo-Pacific species with only a single post-rostral tooth is described as new, with a holotype selected from Taiwanese material. The differences between the two species are discussed and their coloration illustrated.