identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
03A41970FFBAB677FF6EC17EFBD6F885.text	03A41970FFBAB677FF6EC17EFBD6F885.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Galathea balasubramaniani Sureandiran & Divya & Naeem & Sundaramanickam & Kumar, 2026 2026	<div><p>Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov.</p><p>(Figs. 1, 2)</p><p>Type material. Holotype: GALGBAL / NBFGR, female (PCL 2.85 mm, CW 3.06 mm), Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, India, 10°50'2"N, 72°10'56"E, 0.3–1.5 m depth, coll. B. Sureandiran &amp; T.T.Ajith Kumar, 15August 2024 . Paratypes: GALGBAL / NBFGR.1, 1 female (PCL 2.11 mm, CW 2. 33 mm), same data as holotype; GALGBAL / NBFGR.2, 1 male (PCL 1.88 mm, CW 2. 02 mm), same data as holotype .</p><p>Etymology. The species is named to honor, Prof. T. Balasubramanian, Former Director &amp; Dean, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University and Former Vice Chancellor, Chettinad University, Tamil Nadu. He has made commendable research contributions to marine biology, toxicology, marine biodiversity and conservation.</p><p>Diagnosis. Carapace with distinct transverse ridges; epigastric ridge with pair of spines; uninterrupted mesogastric ridge; lateral margin with 8 or 9 spines. Rostrum lateral margin with 4 sharp spines. Pterygostomian flap with 2 distinct spines on linea anomurica. Antennule article 1 with 3 well-developed spines. Maxilliped 3 merus proximal spine reaching or slightly over-reaching distal margin of article. P2 propodus 4.2–4.7 times broad and 1.5 times long as carpus. Epipod present on P1, absent on P2–4. P1 with distinct black spot surrounded by yellow band.</p><p>Description. Carapace as long as broad; transverse ridges anteriorly setiferous; gastric region with 4–6 transverse ridges: 1 epigastric ridge with pair of spines; 2 protogastric ridges, anterior ridge uninterrupted, medially convex, parahepatic spine absent, posterior ridge uninterrupted medially; uninterrupted mesogastric ridge extending towards anterior-most brachial spine; 2 metagastric ridges, anterior ridge not interrupted medially, extending towards anterior-most brachial margin, posterior ridge small. Mid-transverse ridge uninterrupted, preceded by shallow cervical groove, followed by 5 or 6 ridges, 1 or 2 uninterrupted. Lateral margin medially convex, with 8 or 9 spines: 2 spines in front of and 6 or 7 spines behind anterior cervical groove; first anterolateral well-developed. External orbital margin unarmed. Rostrum triangular, 0.9 times long as wide; lateral margin with 4 sharp spines.</p><p>Pterygostomian flap rugose, 2 distinct spines on upper margin on linea anomurica; anterior margin with well-developed spine.</p><p>Thoracic sternum slightly wider than long, lateral margins diverging posteriorly.</p><p>Abdominal somites 2–4 with 2 uninterrupted dorsal ridges; somites 5–6 with 2 ridges. Male with G1 and G2.</p><p>Ocular peduncle 1.1 times longer than wide, maximum corneal diameter 0.8 rostrum width.</p><p>Antennule article 1 with 3 well-developed spines: distodorsal larger, distomesial smaller. Ultimate article with short setae along the distodorsal margin, arranged individually rather than in tufts.</p><p>Antennal article 1 with 2 distomesial spines of nearly equal size reaching midpoint of article 2; article 2 distomesial spine reaching ½ length of article 3, article 4 unarmed.</p><p>Maxilliped 3 ischium spine weakly developed on flexor margin, extensor margin unarmed, crista dentata with 25 or 26 denticles. Merus slightly shorter than ischium, with strong proximal spine on flexor margin, reaching to or slightly over-reaching distal margin of merus; 2 small distal spines. Carpus without spine. Propodus slender. Dactylus oblong.</p><p>P1 length 2.6 times PCL, left and right equal in size, with dense, numerous alternating long and small setae. Dactylus and pollex 0.9 times long as palm, each armed with 2 rows of spoon-shaped teeth. Palm 1.9 times long as broad, 1.1 times long as carpus, 0.6 times long as merus, with row of spines on lateral and dorsal margin, mesial with less spines. Carpus slightly smaller than palm, 1.6 times long as broad, 0.8 times long as palm, 0.6 times long as merus, lateral margin with 2 rows of small spines, mesial margin with 3 or 4 well developed spines. Merus 0.8 times PCL, 3.0 times long as broad, 1.6 times long as carpus, mesial margin with 4 or 5 well developed spines, lateral margin with 2 strong spines and row of some small spines.</p><p>P2–4: quite slender and slightly compressed, sparse long setae in entire articles. P2 length 1.9 times PCL; dactylus 2.5 times long as broad, 0.4 times long as propodus; propodus 4.2–4.7 times long as broad, 1.5 times long as carpus, 0.7 times long as merus, flexor and extensor margin with 4 spines; carpus 0.5 times long as merus, 2.0 times long as broad, extensor margin with 5 spines; merus 2.9 times long as wide, 1.9 times long as carpus, extensor margin with 9 or 10 spines diminishing towards ischium. P3 length 1.8 times PCL; dactylus 0.3 times long as propodus and merus; propodus 5.3 times long as wide, 2.7 times of dactylus, flexor margin with 3 or 4 spines (second proximal spine small), extensor margin smooth; carpus 1.9 times long as wide, 0.5 times propodus; merus 2.7 times as long as wide. P4 length 1.7 times PCL; dactylus 2.1 times long as wide, 0.3 times long as merus; propodus 3.6 times long as wide, 2 or 3 spines (proximal spine very small or absent), 1.2 times long as carpus; carpus 2.6 times long as wide; merus 1.3 times of propodus. Dactylus length 0.1–0.2 times PCL; P2 apex weakly curved, P3–4 apex strongly curved; flexor margin with 4 obsolescent spines, each tooth bearing slender corneous spine.</p><p>Epipod present in P1, absent in P2–4.</p><p>Colour in life. Carapace ground-colour dark brown; dense whitish patches present on the dorsal margin of carapace; branchial region with black spot. P1 distal portion palm with black spot encircled with a yellow band. P1–P4 with transverse stripes.</p><p>Habitat. During the present investigation, we collected Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. from dead coral branches and rocks with algal deposits. The specific habitat preference may be related feeding opportunities and shelter.</p><p>Remarks. Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. belongs to the group of species in Galathea possessing pterygostomian flap with 1 or 2 spines on the upper margin near the linea anomurica and an uninterrupted mesogastric ridge between the anterior most branchial spines (Macpherson &amp; Robainas-Barcia 2015). This group includes G. acis, G. aequata, G. ahyongi, G. mauritiana and G. senta . Among these five species, G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. can be easily separated based on the presence of epipod on P1, which is absent in all the aforementioned species of this group. Furthermore, both Galathea acis (known from Australia, Christmas Islands, Japan, Mariana Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Queensland and Vanuatu Samoa; 0–91 m depth) and G. aequata (known from French Polynesia, Society, Gambier and Tuamotu Islands; 0–23 m depth) can also be distinguished from G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. based on its more slender P2 propodus (4.2–4.7 times as long as wide versus 3.0–3.5 times in G. acis and G. aequata).</p><p>Galathea ahyongi (known from Oman, Red Sea) is differentiated through uninterrupted anterior mesogastric ridge in G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. (versus interrupted in G. ahyongi).</p><p>Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. is morphologically similar to G. mauritiana, which has restricted distribution in the southwestern Indian Ocean (Macpherson &amp; Robainas-Barcia 2015). On the other hand, G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. distributed in the northwestern Indian Ocean (Lakshadweep, India) has a narrower P2 propodus (4.2–4.7 times long as wide versus 4.0 times in G. mauritiana); the P3–4 dactylus apex is strongly curved in G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. (versus weakly curved in G. mauritiana).</p><p>Galathea senta (known from Austral Islands, French Polynesia, Gambier, New Caledonia, Pitcairn Island, Society, Taiwan and Vanuatu; 0–23 m depth) can be distinguished from G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. based on the P2 propodus length 4.2–4.7 times long as wide (versus 3.0 times in G. senta)</p><p>Distribution. Presently known from Agatti Island, Lakshadweep, 0.3–1.5 m depth.</p><p>Molecular Identification</p><p>Molecular markers such as COI and 16S rRNA have been utilized in the present study to corroborate the taxonomic identification and to understand the phylogenetic relationship of the new species with its close congeners. The COI gene Maximum Likelihood (ML) analysis showed Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. formed a monophyletic group with G. mauritiana (KP203779) from Madagascar, Southwestern Indian Ocean (Fig. 3). The 16S rRNA gene Maximum Likelihood (ML) analysis also displayed the genetic distinctness of G. balasubramaniani sp. nov. (Fig. 4).</p><p>The genetic divergence calculated among Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. and closely related species ( G. acis, G. aequata, G. ahyongi, G. mauritiana, and G. senta) ranged from 6.0 to 14.3% for the COI gene (Table 1). The new species, G. balasubramaniani sp. nov., exhibits a closer relationship with G. mauritiana, with an interspecific genetic divergence of 6.0–8.6%. On the other hand, for 16S rRNA also, higher genetic distance was observed among the closely related G. acis and G. senta (3.1–16.9 %; Table 2). For other species, G. aequata, G. ahyongi, and G. mauritiana, the 16S rRNA sequence is not available. Here, lesser genetic divergence was observed with G. acis (3.1%), which can be easily differentiated through morphological characters.</p><p>The genetic divergence (COI) between Galathea balasubramaniani sp. nov. and sequences identified as G. acis ranged from 7.7% to 9.3%, excluding one sequence (KP203644 from New Caledonia), which exhibited a high divergence of 19.9% and formed a distinct clade in phylogenetic analyses. This suggests that KP203644 may be a misidentified sequence and warrants taxonomic re-examination. The presence of considerable divergence within G. acis sequences, coupled with their distribution across separate clades, indicates the possibility of a species complex. Further, the preliminary analysis of 16S rRNA sequences identified as G. acis ranged between 3.1–3.6%, excluding four sequence, which also show similar patterns of separation with high level of genetic divergence 11.8 % (KP203406 from Vanuatu, Oceania), 12.0 % (KP203405 from Vanuatu, Oceania), 17.7 % (KP203404 from New Caledonia) and 22.5 % (KP203478 from Vanuatu, Oceania). These findings emphasize the need for a comprehensive reassessment of G. acis, integrating both morphological and genetic data to clarify taxonomy and facilitate species identification; however, this does not fall within the scope of the present study.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A41970FFBAB677FF6EC17EFBD6F885	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		MagnoliaPress via Plazi	Sureandiran, B.;Divya, P. R.;Naeem, U. P. Mohammed;Sundaramanickam, A.;Kumar, T. T. Ajith	Sureandiran, B., Divya, P. R., Naeem, U. P. Mohammed, Sundaramanickam, A., Kumar, T. T. Ajith (2026): A new species of the squat lobster genus Galathea Fabricius, 1793 from Lakshadweep, India (Crustacea: Decapoda: Galatheidae). Zootaxa 5757 (4): 382-392, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.6, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5757.4.6
