Halicarcinus bedfordi Montgomery, 1931

Rahayu, Dwi Listyo & Ng, Peter K. L., 2004, The Hymenosomatidae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) of Timika (Irian Jaya, Indonesia), Zoosystema 26 (1), pp. 87-94 : 88-89

Halicarcinus bedfordi Montgomery, 1931

Halicarcinus bedfordi Montgomery, 1931: 425 , pl. 27, figs 3, 3a, b. — Lucas 1980: 181, figs 3A, 5E, 6N, 7G, 9E, 9F. — Chuang & Ng 1994: 87. — Ng & Chuang 1996: 6.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Indonesia. Otakwa, 4°57’S, 137°14’E, sandy mud, 4 m, estuary, 11.IX.1997, coll. A. Haris, 1 3.2 × 3.9 mm, 1 3.3 × 3.6 mm ( ZRC 2002.606), 3 3.1 × 3.4 mm, 2.9 × 3.2 mm, 3.1 × 3.7 mm, 1 3.0 × 3.2 mm ( RCO).

Ajkwa, intertidal, mud substrate in mangrove area, 12.VI.2001, coll. A. Pratiwi, 1 2.3 × 3 mm, 3

(2 ovigerous) 3.3 × 3.5 mm, 2.2 × 2.4 mm, 3.0 × 3.3 mm ( ZRC 2002.605 ), 1 3.3 × 3.4 mm ( MZB) ; 15.VI.2001, 1 2.0 × 2.3 mm ( MZB) .

Kamora, intertidal, mud substrate in mangrove area, 11.VII.2001, coll. A. Pratiwi, 5 (3 ovigerous) 3.3 × 3.6 mm, 2.5 × 2.8 mm, 2.4 × 2.8 mm ( RCO), 3.0 × 3.3 mm, 3.3 × 3.5 mm ( MNHN), 1 2.9 × 3.3 mm ( MZB) ; 12.VII.2001, 1 2.3 × 2.7 mm ( MZB) ; 13.VII.2001, 3 2.0 × 2.3 mm ( MZB), 3.3 × 3.8 mm, 2.2 × 2.7 mm, 1 (ovigerous) 3.0 × 3.5 mm ( MNHN) ; 20.IX.2001, 1 3.2 × 3.4 mm ( MZB) .

REMARKS

The genus Halicarcinus (type species Cancer planatus Fabricius, 1775 ) contains 20 species but only one (Halicarcinusfilholi De Man, 1887, from Java) has been reported previously from Indonesian waters. Halicarcinus bedfordi was originally described from Western Australia but is also known from Northern Australia ( Lucas 1980). The present specimens agree very well with the redescription and figures of this species by Lucas (1980), although there is some variation. The chelipeds of the largest males are substantially longer than those figured by Montgomery (1931) and Lucas (1980) for this species, but this is not unexpected, being previously observed in the related H. coralicola (Rathbun, 1909) (see Ng & Chuang 1996). The form of the anterolateral margin varies. In smaller specimens, the lateral angle is marked by a small spine, but in larger specimens, especially males, it expands to form a large dentiform structure, giving the carapace a broader appearance.

The male abdomen for this species is as described by Guinot & Richer de Forges (1997: 466, fig. 4A) for the genus, in which there are six segments, the telson being fused with segment 6 and barely separated by a faint suture (see also Lucas 1980).