Athanas iranicus Anker, Naderloo & Marin, 2010

Naderloo, Reza & Türkay, Michael, 2012, Decapod crustaceans of the littoral and shallow sublittoral Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf: Faunistics, Biodiversity and Zoogeography 3374, Zootaxa 3374 (1), pp. 1-67 : 12

Athanas iranicus Anker, Naderloo & Marin, 2010

Persian Gulf. Iran ( Anker et al. 2010; present study).

Iran. Hormozgan Province: Kolahi, Qeshm I. (Type locality, 2 km east of desalination center) .

General distribution. Endemic: Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormoz .

Habitat. Sandy-muddy/muddy-sand intertidal.

Remarks. Athanas iranicus was described from a single male from Qeshm I. It is assigned to the Athanas dimorphus species-group, which is mainly characterized by the general shape of the first chelipeds and their ability to be carried flexed, with the chela fitting in the deeply depressed merus ( Anker & Jeng 2007; Anker, et al. 2010). Athanas iranicus is closely related to Athanas squillophilus Hayashi, 2002 , described from Japan, by the presence of dense rows of long setae on the palms of the chelipeds, a character that also distinguishes the species from the remaining congeners.