First record of sand crab, Jonas kalpakkamensis Barathkumar, Das & Satpathy, 2016 (Decapoda, Brachyura, Corystidae) from the Western Indian Ocean with a key to the genus Jonas

Abstract

Abstract A total of five specimens of sand crab, Jonas kalpakkamensis Barathkumar, Das & Satpathy, 2016 were recorded for the first time from the Western Indian Ocean. The sand crab specimens were collected from the bycatch of the commercial demersal trawler targeting crustaceans at a depth of 15–50 m operated along the western region of the Gujarat coastal waters. The collected specimen consists of 3 males and 2 females and it was identified by comparing with holotype and paratype specimens. Previously, J. kalpakkamensis was reported from the Eastern Indian Ocean in the Bay of Bengal region but there is no report or distribution of this sand crab in the Western Indian Ocean. The detailed taxonomic diagnostic character of the sand crab, J. kalpakkamensis and the key for all species under the genus Jonas reported globally is provided in the current study.