Pilodius miersi ( Ward, 1936 )

Pilodius miersi ( Ward, 1936) View in CoL

( Fig. 4 View Fig )

Chlorodopsis granulata Stimpson, 1858 : Sakai, 1936, p. 164, pl. 49 fig. 1; 1939, pp. 502 (in key), 503, fig. 41, pl. 62 fig. 1, pl. 97 fig. 6. — Serène & Nguyen, 1959, pp. 307, 338 (in key), figs. 1A, 2E–F, pl. 1 fig. D, pl. 3 figs. C, F.

Chlorodopsis miersi Ward, 1936, p. 4 View in CoL , pl. 2 figs. 1–3.

Pilodius granulatus (Stimpson, 1858) View in CoL : Sakai, 1965, pp. 148 (in English part), 63 (in Japanese part), pl. 73, fig. 6; 1976, pp. 459 (in key) & 460 (in English vol.), pp. 279 (in list) & 280 (in Japanese vol.), pl. 164 fig. 3. — Serène, 1984, pp. 239 (in key), 240 (in key). — Dai et al., 1986, pp. 305 (in key), 306, fig. 165B(2), pl. 43 fig. 3; Dai & Yang, 1991, pp. 328 (in key), 329, pl. 43 fig. 3, fig. 165B(2).

Pilodius luomi Serène, 1971, p. 913 View in CoL ; 1984, pp. 239 (in key), 240 (in key).

Pilodius miersi View in CoL : Clark & Galil, 1993, pp. 1136, 1159 (in key), figs. 7, 34A, 41D. — Ng et al., 2008, p. 197 (in list). — Lee & Ko, 2011, p. 187, figs. 5–6.

Material examined.ɹOse-zaki, Suruga Bay, 6 m depth, 1 ovig.8 (cb 15.2 mm, cl 10.6 mm), NSMT-Cr 32417, 24-VI-2023, coll. H. Takakura; Ose-zaki, 5 m depth, 1 Ə (cb 18.0 mm, cl 12.3 mm), NSMT-Cr 32418, 11-V-2024, coll. H. Takakura.

Remarks.ɹIn Japan, this species has been known as Chlorodopsis granulata Stimpson by Sakai (1936, 1939) or Pilodius granulatus (Stimpson) by Sakai (1965, 1976), but the Japanese species are known as P. miersi Ward since the revision of the genus Pilodius by Clark and Galil (1993), which is through, with many photographs and detailed line drawings of the distinguishing characters, and made clear the synonymy of 12 known and 3 new species. However, on the results of analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences, Lasley et al. (2015) concluded that the genus Pilodius is restricted to 10 species and that the others are transferred to the genera Cyclodius Dana, 1851 , and Soliella and Luniella erected by Lasley et al. (2015). Pilodius miersi is one of 10 constituent species of the genus Pilodius .

carapace dorsal surface are distinctly isolated by deep furrows and wholly covered with short setae and sharp granules; the protogastric region is not perfectly divided into two by a longitudinal furrow, leaving the posterior part undivided, and the subdivision of the mesogastric region is not clear. The carapace anterolateral margin is cut into four teeth, each of which is armed with a main spine and some accessory spinules. In the male cheliped ( Fig. 4A–B View Fig ), the palm is covered and encircled with blackish color extended from the immovable finger. The close congener, Pilodius nigrocrinitus Stimpson, 1858 , is different from this species primarily by having the carapace covered with black setae instead of brownish setae in this species and having no blackish color extended onto the palm of the male cheliped. The male first gonopod of the present specimen agrees well with the figures given by Clark and Galil (1993, fig. 7), in having the distal part with a thick fringe of longish stout setae.

Distribution.ɹWest Pacific, from Japan and Korea to the Queensland coast of Australia through the Philippines and the South China Sea, with a distributional map by Clark and Galil (1993, fig. 22).

Following the key to the Pilodius species provided by Clark and Galil (1993), P. miersi is distinguished from the congeners by the combination of the following characters of the carapace:1) the protogastric region is divided into two longitudinally, 2) the mesogastric region is tripartite, and 3) the anterior lobe of the mesogastric region surpassing anterior margin of the protogastric region.

The specimens examined are briefly noted in the following lines. The carapace ( Fig. 4A, C View Fig ) is transversely ovate, but proportionally wider in the male than the female. The regions of the