Petrolisthes sanmartini Werding & Hiller, 2002

Ferreira, Luciane Augusto De Azevedo & Anker, Arthur, 2021, An annotated and illustrated checklist of the porcelain crabs of Panama (Decapoda: Anomura), Zootaxa 5045 (1), pp. 1-154 : 118

Petrolisthes sanmartini Werding & Hiller, 2002

Petrolisthes sanmartini Werding & Hiller 2002: 849 , figs. 1–3; Rodríguez et al. 2005: 566; (?) Poupin 2018: 151.

Material examined. None.

Previous records from Panama. Rodríguez et al. (2005).

Distribution. West Atlantic: Belize, E Lesser Antilles ( Saint Martin, but see below), Panama (Bocas del Toro) and Colombia ( Werding & Hiller 2002; Rodríguez et al. 2005; Poupin 2018).

Ecology. Shallow subtidal, known depth range: 2–3 m, probably deeper; seems to prefer deeper and more exposed parts of reef formations, compared to other species of the P. galathinus complex; typically in interstices of dead Porites corals ( Werding & Hiller, 2002; Poupin 2018).

Remarks. Petrolisthes sanmartini can be distinguished from all other currently described species of the P. galathinus complex by its relatively more slender extremities and the presence of five movable spines on the P2–P4 dactyli. Poupin’s (2008) record of P. sanmartini from Saint Martin, French Antilles (not to be confused with Isla San Martín, Colombia, the type locality), needs confirmation as the author stated: “there are four spines on P3 dactyl for this species; determination is from Hiller/Werding”. Werding & Hiller (2002) described the colouration of P. sanmartini as striped all over the carapace, with P1 having narrow and partly interrupted darker lines, alternating with fine whitish lines, and P2–P4 having irregular brown and olive patches on the ischia and meri, and whitish with narrow darker longitudinal stripes on the carpi, propodi and dactyli. The species appears to be uncommon in Panama, presently known only from Bocas del Toro area.