Freshwater Crabs of the genus Geothelphusa,
are known from Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands and the main islands of Japan. To
date 55 species have been described, 38 of which are found in Taiwan and its
adjacent islands, fifteen are found in the Ryukyus and three species in Japan.
Most of these species are restricted to low altitudes, however six of the
Taiwanese species are found in montane habitats above 1000 m above sea level.
In a paper published in the journal Zootaxa on 3 October 2014,
Jhy-yun Shy of the Department of Aquaculture at National Penghu University,
Hsi-te Shih of the Department of Life Science at the National Chung HsingUniversity and Jean-jay Mao of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources
at National Ilan University describe a new species of montane dwelling Geothelphusa from the headstream of the Danshuei
River in the Cilan Forest in northeastern Taiwan.
The new species is named Geothelphusa cilan,
after the area where it was found. It is a small Crab, with the largest
specimen recorded measuring 18.9 mm in width. They are grayish brown in colour,
with mottled darker brown spots; the claws are more orange.
Geothelphusa cilan, male specimen in (top) dorsal and (bottom) frontal views. Shy et al. (2014).
See also…
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