Lyphira Galil, 2009: 300

Rahayu, Dwi Listyo & Ng, Peter K. L., 2024, On the genus Lyphira Galil, 2009 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Leucosiidae), with descriptions of four new species from the West Pacific, Zootaxa 5476 (1), pp. 358-392 : 359

Lyphira Galil, 2009: 300 .

Type species. Philyra heterograna Ortmann, 1892 , by original designation.

Remarks. Galil (2009) separated Lyphira from Phylira Leach, 1817 (type species Cancer globus Fabricius, 1775 ) by its members possessing an ovate exopod of the third maxilliped, a transversely narrow male first pleonal somite of with only somite 1 free and somites 2–6 fused, with a subterminal denticle present on somite 6, the male telson is free and the G1 has a short apical process. The fused second to sixth male pleonal somites of Lyphira , with a shallow suture between somites 5 and 6, and with a distal tubercle medially easily distinguish it from Philyra s. str., which has no visible suture between the fused male pleonal somites and there is also no subdistal tubercle on somite 6.

Galil (2009) separated the four species of Lyphira she recognised using the degree of granulation on the carapace, proportions of the exopod of the third maxilliped, strength of the endostomial spine, and proportions of the cheliped merus. In addition to her characters, we also use the shape of the posterior carapace margin, width-length ratio of the P5 merus, structure of G1 and vulva to separate taxa. Ten species are now included in Lyphira : L. heterograna ( Ortmann, 1892) , L. acutidens Chen, 1987 , L. natalensis Galil, 2009 , L. ovata Galil, 2009 , L. perplexa Galil, 2009 , L. georgei Trivedi, Soni & Vachhrajani, 2016 , L. chomel n. sp., L. ngankee n. sp., L. linda n. sp., and L. bellagrana n. sp.

Comparative material. Philyra globus ( Fabricius, 1775) : 1 male (17.3 × 18.0 mm) ( ZRC 2014.0054 ), Kasimedu Fish Landing , Chennai, eastern India, coll. Z. Jaafar, 23 November 2004. Philyra samia Galil, 2009 : 1 male (19.1 × 20.6 mm), 1 female (16.7 × 17.5 mm) ( ZRC 2022.1030 ), South Africa, coll. Oceanographic Research Institute, through S. Fennessy, 8 December 2006. Lyphira perplexa Galil, 2009 : 1 male (23.3 × 23.3 mm), 1 female (20.7 × 20.4 mm) ( ZRC 2010.00871 ), Karachi Fish Harbour , Pakistan, coll. Q. Kazmi, 9 September 1976 ; 4 males, 3 females ( ZRC 2001.0904 ), Tranquebar, Tamil Nadu, southeastern India, coll. N.K. Ng & A.S. Fernando, 16–24 March 2001 ; 1 male ( ZRC 2014.0061 ), station B, Iraq, Persian Gulf, coll. M. Almalicky, 2010 ; 1 male ( ZRC 2014.0079 ), off Basra, Iraq, Persian Gulf, coll. M. Naser, 2009 .