Anomuran and Brachyuran Symbiotic Crabs in Coastal Areas between the Southern Ryukyu arc and the Coral Triangle

Abstract

Symbiotic anomuran and brachyuran crabs were identified after extensive surveys of reef zones, especially from sponges, scleractinian corals, crinoids, and sea urchins, in the coastal areas of the southern East China Sea. Twenty-nine species belonging to 17 genera, 9 families, and 2 infraorders were identified (3 were identified to the generic level). More crabs belonged to the infraorder Brachyura (82.8%) than to Anomura (17.2%). Two anomuran symbionts (Allogalathea elegans and Petrolisthes virgatus) and 5 brachyuran symbionts (Tetralia glaberrima, Tetralia rubridactyla, Trapezia cymodoce, Trapezia septata, and Cymo melanodactylus) are common in this area. Two species of Anomura (Lauriea simulata, Petrolisthes virgatus) and 3 of Brachyura (Gonatonotus nasutus, Tetralia aurantistellata and Tetralia nigrolineata) were identified for the first time from waters adjacent to Taiwan. These records represent the northernmost recorded of L. simulata and T. aurantistellata. The occurrence of P. virgatus is the second in the western Pacific Ocean. This study revealed the geospatial distribution of symbiotic crabs, which connects the region from the southern Ryukyu arc to the Coral Triangle, and provides the supporting taxonomic account of symbiotic anomuran and brachyuran crab fauna inhabiting the reef zone in northern Taiwan.