Tubuca acuta ( Stimpson, 1858 )

Tubuca acuta ( Stimpson, 1858) View in CoL ( Fig. 4G, H View Fig )

Gelasimus acutus Stimpson, 1858: 99 View in CoL ( type locality: Macao); Kingsley 1880: 144; Stimpson 1907: 105, pl. 14(3).

Uca ( Deltuca) acuta acuta View in CoL – Crane 1975: 25, 592, fig. 61B, pl. 1E–H.

Uca acuta acuta View in CoL – Yamaguchi 1994: 183.

Uca acuta View in CoL – Jones and Morton 1994: 12, fig. 1, pls. 1A, B, 2A, B; Kosuge et al. 1997: 182; Do and Hoang 2006: 36; S-L Yang et al. 2008: 807; Shih et al. 2010b: 3, fig. 2A–D.

Uca ( Tubuca) acuta View in CoL – Ng et al. 2008: 241; Shih et al. 2016a: 69, figs. 4G, H, 5, 6A, B.

Tubuca acuta View in CoL – Shih et al. 2015: 244, figs. 201–205; Shih et al. 2016b: 159, 173; Ng et al. 2017: 126, fig. 15d; Sasaki 2019: 12506; Wada 2019: e142, fig. 1I.

Tubuca ( Angustuca) acuta View in CoL – Rosenberg 2019: 735.

Material examined: Quang Ninh: 1 ò ( 15.9 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15138), 5 òò (14.5 – 17.8 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15139), Dong Rui, coll. H.- T. Shih and P.- Y. Hsu, 9 Oct. 2017. Hai Phong: 9 òò ( 7.8–19.7 mm), 5 ññ ( 13.3–16.9 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15134), Xuan Dam, Cat Ba Island, coll. B. K. K. Chan, 23 Nov. 2011. Nam Dinh: 1 ò ( 23.2 mm), 1 ñ (12.0 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15133), coll. V. T. Do, Aug. 2013; 7 òò (18.0–21.0 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15102), 2 òò (18.2, 19.6 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15103), 1 ò ( 20.9 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15104, 1 ò ( 18.6 mm) (NCHUZOOL 15105), Xuan Thuy National Park, coll. V. T. Do, Dec. 2014.

Distribution: Vietnam, South China (including Hainan) and Taiwan.

Remarks: Tubuca acuta is not uncommon along the coasts of South China and northern Vietnam, although it is less reported in the literature ( e.g., not included in Dawydoff 1952; Dai et al. 1986; Dai and Yang 1991), probably a result of its marked resemblance in coloration and morphology hence misidentification with Tubuca arcuata ( Crane 1975; Jones and Morton 1994). This species was described based on material from Macao, South China ( Stimpson 1858), but erroneously recorded in Chinese records under different names (see Crane 1975; Shih et al. 2010b). The identity of T. acuta (then as Uca ( Deltuca) acuta ) was eventually revised and confirmed by Crane (1975), an understanding since followed by subsequent authors ( e.g., Jones and Morton 1994; Kosuge et al. 1997; S-L Yang et al. 2008). Tubuca acuta and T. rhizophorae were considered as subspecies of U. ( Deltuca) acuta by Crane (1975) due to their morphological similarities. They are, however, clearly distinct, the molecular evidence being diagnostic ( Shih et al. 2016b), and are respectively found in northern and southern Vietnam (see DISCUSSION below).