Specimens of species closely related to the rare deep-sea lobster Thaumastocheles japonicus Calman, 1913 were obtained from recent deep-sea expeditions in the West Pacific. Close examination of these specimens, as well as molecular analysis, showed that they represent two species new to science, with many morphological and significant genetic differences (barcoding gene COI sequence divergences 11.5- 14.8%) between each other as well as T. japonicus. Re-examination of the specimens previously assigned to T. japonicus revealed that true T. japonicus has a more northern distribution, from Japan to the South China Sea and the Philippines. The two new species have more southern distributions with T. bipristis n. sp. Restricted to the Philippines and Indonesia, and T. massonktenos n. sp. Being widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from the South China Sea to Madagascar and New Caledonia. The genetic data also suggest that T. dochmiodon Chan and de Saint Laurent, 1999 may represent a polymorphic male form of T. japonicus.

BATHUS 1, BATHUS 2, BIOPAPUA, Restricted, HALIPRO 1, MUSORSTOM 2, MUSORSTOM 3, PANGLAO 2005, PAPUA NIUGINI, SALOMON 2, TAIWAN 2001

BATHUS 2, BIOPAPUA, HALIPRO 1, MUSORSTOM 3, PAPUA NIUGINI, SALOMON 2

The rare deep-sea lobsters of the genus Thaumastocheles Wood-Mason, 1874 are characterized by having conspicuously unequal first chelipeds, with the right cheliped greatly elongated and pectinate. The five species of Thaumastocheles are mainly separated by the shape of the teeth in the major chelae. Molecular analysis using four genetic markers (three mitochondrial: COI, 12S rDNA, 16S rDNA; one nuclear: ITS-1) on an extensive series of the species of Thaumastocheles from different localities reveals that there is sexual dimorphism and even male polymorphism in the major chelae in at least half of the species, with T. dochmiodon Chan & de Saint Laurent, 1999 being the male form in T. japonicus Calman, 1913. Thaumastocheles dochmiodon is therefore considered a junior synonym of T. japonicus. The other species confirmed as showing sexual dimorphism and male polymorphism is T. massonktenos Chang, Chan & Ahyong, 2014. A revised key is provided for the species of Thaumastocheles. Whether sexual dimorphism and male polymorphism are common phenomena in Thaumastocheles or even all thaumastocheliforms still awaits the collection and discovery of additional material of both sexes.

BIOPAPUA, KAVIENG 2014

Recent deep-sea cruises using Taiwanese research vessels off Taiwan and in the South China Sea yielded seven species of the clawed lobster genus Nephropsis Wood-Mason, 1872. Four species are new records for Taiwan (Nephropsis acanthura Macpherson, 1990, N. holthuisi Macpherson, 1993, N. serrata Macpherson, 1993, and N. suhmi Bate, 1888) and three species are new records of Dongsha (under the jurisdiction of Taiwan) in the South China Sea (N. ensirostris Alcock, 1901, N. stewarti Wood-Mason, 1872, and N. suhmi). Altogether, five and four species of this genus are now known from Taiwan and Dongsha, respectively. The diagnostic characters and coloration are illustrated for most, if not all, of these species.

DongSha 2014, NanHai 2014, TAIWAN 2001, TAIWAN 2002, TAIWAN 2003, TAIWAN 2004, ZhongSha 2015