Travancoriana schirnerae Bott, 1969

Travancoriana schirnerae Bott, 1969 View in CoL

[Schirner’s Nilgiri crab]

( Figs. 2 View FIGURE 2 , 3 View FIGURE 3 )

Travancoriana schirnerae Bott, 1969: 361 View in CoL .

Travancoriana schirnerae View in CoL – Bott 1970a: 336; 1970b: 41, pl. 4 figs. 38–41, pl. 26 figs. 19, 20.— Bahir & Yeo 2007: 317, figs. 6– 8.— Ng et al. 2008: 68 (list).— Srivastava 2009: 29 (list).— Klaus et al. 2014: 653 (list).— Pati & Sharma 2013: 280 (list, in key).—Pati 2020: 162 (list).— Pati & Pradhan 2020: 555836 (list).— Pati & Yeo 2022: 3 (list).— Sruthi & Thirunavukkarasu 2022: 460 (list).

Not Potamon (Potamonautes) cunicularis – Rathbun 1904: pl. 15 fig. 10; 1905: 184 (part).

Not Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) cunicularis – Alcock 1910: 83, pl. 12 fig. 56 (part).— Roux 1931: 46.

Type material. Holotype: male ( CW 45.1 mm, CL 31.6 mm) ( MHNG, uncatalogued), India, Tamil Nadu State, Nilgiris District, Coonoor, near Hillgrove , 11.338° N, 76.831° E, elev. 938 m a.s.l., coll. J. Carl, collection date unknown. GoogleMaps

Diagnosis. As for genus.

Remarks. As mentioned by Bahir & Yeo (2007), T. schirnerae was described by Bott (1969, 1970a, 1970b) based on the specimens, which were earlier misidentified as Potamon (Potamonautes) cunicularis by Rathbun (1905) or as Paratelphusa (Barytelphusa) cunicularis by Alcock (1910) and Roux (1931). The records of the species from Karnataka, Kerala, and other districts of Tamil Nadu by Rathbun (1905), Alcock (1910), Srivastava (2005, 2007, 2013), Prabakar (2017), and Rajesh et al. (2017) are doubtful.

Ecological notes. Travancoriana schirnerae can inhabit small, shallow, steep, rocky streams in shaded areas, with juveniles occurring within tea gardens ( Bahir & Yeo 2007).

Geographical distribution. As for genus.

Genus Ponmudiana gen. nov.

( Figs. 4–6 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 )

Type species. Travancoriana charu Bahir & Yeo, 2007 View in CoL , by present designation; gender of genus feminine.

Diagnosis. Large sized crabs (maximum CW 52.1 mm). Carapace relatively broad (CW/CL = ca. 1.2–1.4), relatively low ( CH /CW = ca. 0.4), with moderately convex lateral margins; frontal medial triangle incomplete, lateral margins indiscernible; postorbital cristae well-developed, reaching lateral margins of carapace; external orbital angle broadly triangular, with long outer margin, ca. 5 times length of inner margin; epibranchial tooth low, located at same level of postorbital cristae; epistome posterior margin with well-developed, triangular medial tooth and concave lateral lobes ( Figs. 4A–C, E–G View FIGURE 4 , 6A, B View FIGURE 6 ). Maxilliped 3 with well-developed flagellum on exopod ( Fig. 6D View FIGURE 6 ). Chelipeds relatively stouter in adult males ( Figs. 4A, E View FIGURE 4 , 6A, C View FIGURE 6 ). Ambulatory legs relatively stout, shorter, glabrous ( Figs. 4A, E View FIGURE 4 , 6A, C View FIGURE 6 ). Male s2/s3 visible as narrow, shallow groove, not reaching edge of sternum; male s3/ s4 only visible as 2 short lateral depressions ( Figs. 4D, H View FIGURE 4 , 6C View FIGURE 6 ). Male sternopleonal cavity relatively short, reaching to imaginary line joining anterior part of cheliped coxae ( Figs. 4D, H View FIGURE 4 , 6C View FIGURE 6 ). Male pleon relatively narrow, with concave lateral margins; pleonal somite 6 trapezoidal, relatively broad, proximal width ca. 1.3 times medial length ( Figs. 4D, H View FIGURE 4 , 6C, E View FIGURE 6 ). G1 relatively slender; ultimate article conical or subcylindrical, relatively slender, relatively short, ca. 0.3–0.4 times length of penultimate article; penultimate article slender ( Figs. 5A, B, D, E View FIGURE 5 , 6F, G View FIGURE 6 ). G2 slightly longer than G1, ca. 1.1 times G1 length; ultimate article long, ca. 0.5–0.6 times length of penultimate article ( Figs. 5C, F View FIGURE 5 , 6H View FIGURE 6 ). Vulvae relatively widely located from each other (VD/SW = ca. 0.2) ( Fig. 6I View FIGURE 6 ).

Etymology. The genus name is derived from the Ponmudi Hills of the southern Western Ghats of India, where the congeners live. The gender of this genus is feminine.

Remarks. Ponmudiana gen. nov. is separated from Travancoriana s. str. and established for two species, viz., Po. charu ( Bahir & Yeo, 2007) comb. nov. (type species herein designated) and Po. pollicaris ( Alcock, 1909) comb. nov., based on the character states in male s3/s4, male pleonal somite 6 and G1 penultimate article (see Remarks for Travancoriana ).

Ponmudiana gen. nov. is unique among the gecarcinucid genera of southern India mainly due to its relatively low carapace ( CH /CW = ca. 0.4) ( Figs. 4C, G View FIGURE 4 , 6B View FIGURE 6 ); the well-developed postorbital cristae reaching the lateral margins of the carapace ( Figs. 4A, B, E, F View FIGURE 4 , 6A View FIGURE 6 ); the broadly triangular external orbital angle with a long outer margin, ca. 5 times the length of the inner margin ( Figs. 4A, B, E, F View FIGURE 4 , 6A View FIGURE 6 ); the low epibranchial tooth located at the same level of the postorbital cristae ( Figs. 4A, B, E, F View FIGURE 4 , 6A View FIGURE 6 ); the well-developed flagellum on the exopod of the maxilliped 3 ( Fig. 6D View FIGURE 6 ); the male s3/s4 only visible as two short lateral depressions ( Figs. 4D, H View FIGURE 4 , 6C View FIGURE 6 ); the relatively slender G1 with a slender penultimate article ( Figs. 5A, B, D, E View FIGURE 5 , 6F, G View FIGURE 6 ); the slightly longer G2 than the G1 ( Figs. 5 View FIGURE 5 , 6F–H View FIGURE 6 ); and the relatively widely located vulvae (VD/SW = ca. 0.2) ( Fig. 6I View FIGURE 6 ).

Geographical distribution. Ponmudiana gen. nov. is distributed in the southern Western Ghats of Kerala (Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts) and Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts) of southern India ( Bahir & Yeo 2007; Rajesh et al. 2017; present study) ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ).