Clibanarius ambonensis Rahayu and Forest, 1993

Clibanarius ambonensis Rahayu and Forest, 1993 View in CoL

( Fig. 6C View Figure 6 )

Habitat. The habitat ranges from seagrass, rocky area, and sandy muddy substrate. In Halmahera, it was found near the estuarine area, upper intertidal.

Distribution. Ryu Kyu Island, Japan. Indonesia: Ambon in central Maluku, Timika, Papua, and now in Halmahera, north Maluku.

Color in life. Shield whitish with brown spots. Ocular peduncles bluish-white, dorsal surface with narrow dark brown longitudinal stripe; proximal part brown. Ocular acicles brown with bluish-white spines. Antennal peduncles bluish-white with dark brown longitudinal stripe on dorsal surface of fifth segment. Chelipeds brown with light blue spines; dactyls bluish white with 2 longitudinal brown stripes on dorsal surfaces.Ambulatory legs bluish-white with brown longitudinal stripes on lateral surfaces: dactyls and meri with 3 longitudinal stripes, propodi with 4 longitudinal stripes, carpi with 2 longitudinal stripes (after Rahayu, 2003).

Remarks. A number of species show longitudinal stripes on the ocular peduncles and ambulatory legs, but without stripes on the shield, namely C. antennatus Rahayu and Forest, 1993 , C. bistriatus Rahayu and Forest, 1993 , C. infraspinatus ( Hilgendorf, 1869) ,and C. clibanarius ( Herbst, 1791) . Clibanarius ambonensis is easily separated by the coloration in life mentioned above. The related species, C. infraspinatus is reddish brown with yellowish-white or orange stripes on the ambulatory legs, and brown stripes on the ocular peduncles (Rahayu, 2022: fig. 1A, B). In C. clibanarius the ambulatory legs are maroon with cream stripes, the ocular peduncle brown with dark brown longitudinal stripe ( Komai et al, 2019: fig. 5), and in C. antennatus it is bluish-white with brown stripes on the ambulatory legs, the thin brown stripe in bluish white on the ocular peduncles is interrupted ( Rahayu, 2003). Clibanarius bistriatus has orangish cream ambulatory legs with broad greenish brown longitudinal stripe f lanked by very narrow dark brown stripe, the ocular peduncles are cream with dark brown longitudinal stripe.