Revision of the Indo-West Pacific coral reef mantis shrimp genus, Gonodactylopsis Manning, 1969 (Crustacea: Stomatopoda: Gonodactylidae)

Abstract

The Indo-West Pacific coral reef mantis shrimp genus genus, Gonodactylopsis Manning, 1969, was established for two Indo-West Pacific species: Gonodactylus herdmani Tattersall, 1906 (type species) described from the Gulf of Mannar, India; and Gonodactylus drepanophorus de Man, 1902, from Indonesia. A third species, Gonodactylopsis komodoensis Erdmann & Manning, 1998, was described from Komodo, Indonesia. Gonodactylopsis is revised herein based on type and other material of the three known species, and two new species are described based on recent collections from coral reefs: one from Macclesfield Bank, South China Sea, and the other from Fiji and Papua New Guinea. Reconsideration of all species of Gonodactylopsis revealed a probable synapomorphy of the genus that is unique in the Stomatopoda: the presence of membranous, partially de-chitinized posterior surfaces of the uropodal endopod and exopod distal article. All species of Gonodactylopsis are described and figured, and an identification key is provided.

Keywords

• mantis shrimp
• indo-west pacific
• gonodactyloidea
• gonodactylopsis
• coral reef
• crustacea
• stomatopoda
• taxonomy