Spiridonov V.A.1, Türkay M.2 2007. Podotreme crabs from the western Indian Ocean: description of a new species of Tymolus Stimpson, 1858 with a review of regional distribution of the Cyclodorippidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Podotremata) // Arthropoda Selecta. Vol.16. No.1: 1–9 [in English].
1 P.P Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nakhimov Avenue, 36, Moscow 117997 Russia.
2 Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt a. M. Germany. E-mail: Michael.Tuerkay@senckenberg.de
Key words: deep water fauna, distribution, endemism.
Abstract. The podotreme crabs of the family Cyclodorippidae from the western Indian Ocean were studied in the course of the re-examination of the Deutsche Tiefsee Expedition collection. The only species of Tymolus known so far from the western Indian Ocean and previously identified as Tymolus uncifer (Ortmann, 1892) represents a new species, Tymolus globosus sp.n. Remarks on the variability and gonopod morphology of T. uncifer from East Asia, and a new record of Tymolus brucei Tavares, 1991 in Japan are also presented. In general, the hypothesis regarding a rather high endemism of the Cyclodorippidae fauna of the western Indian Ocean can not be rejected. Similarly to several decapod taxa the Cyclodorippidae have not been recorded from the Arabian Sea and the waters around the Arabian Peninsula.