Uroptychus michaeli (Decapoda, Chirostylidae), a new species of deep-water squat lobster from north-western Australia and Taiwan

Abstract

Uroptychus michaelisp. nov. is described from northwestern Australia and Taiwan. The new species closely resemblesU. nigricapillis, to which northwestern Australian and some Taiwanese records had been previously referred.Uroptychus michaelisp. nov. is readily distinguished fromU. nigricapillisby the deeply excavate cervical groove on the carapace (versus shallow, weakly indicated), more elongate pereopods 2-4 in which the pereopod 2 merus is longer than the postorbital carapace length (versus shorter), and the proportionally longer pereopod 2 carpus, which is as long as or longer than half postorbital carapace length (versus less than half) and approximately twice the length of the dactylus (versus 1.2× or less).