A review of the deep-water hermit crab species of the genus Parapagurus Smith, 1879 from the Indian and Pacific Oceans is presented based on abundant samples obtained during French expeditions to the New Caledonia region, and supplemented with extensive material deposited in various major museums and institutions throughout the world. A total of 14 species were found to occur in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Of these seven are new, P. richeri sp. nov., P. furici sp. nov., P. stenorhinus sp. nov., P. saintlaurentae sp. nov., P. janetae sp. nov., P. foraminosus sp. nov., and P. woljfi sp. nov.; and three, P. abyssorum (Filhol, 1885), P. bouvieri Stebbing, 1910, and P. andreui Macpherson, 1984, include parts of the Atlantic Ocean in their distribution. The new species are fully described and illustrated; all previously known species are diagnosed or in the case of one obscurely defined species, P. holihuisi Lemaitre, 1989, redescribed. Information on morphological variations is included for the most abundant species, and a key to aid in the identification of all 14 species is given. Of the seven new species, P. richeri sp. nov. and P. furici sp. nov., were found in the New Caledonia region but are also distributed elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific; P. saintlaurentae sp. nov. and P. stenorhinus sp. nov., have been found exclusively in the Indian Ocean; and P. janetae sp. nov., P. foraminosus sp. nov., and P. wolffi sp. nov., exclusively in the eastern Pacific. As result of this study, the genus now contains 17 species, of which P. pilosimanus Smith, 1879, P. nudus (A. Milne-Edwards, 1891), and P. alaminos Lemaitre, 1986, are so far known only from the Atlantic Ocean. The bathymétrie distribution of all species in the genus is summarized. |
