A New Species Of Trichopeltarion A. Milne- Edwards, 1880, From The Southwestern Atlantic (Crustacea: Brachyura: Atelecyclidae)

KEYWORDS: West Atlantic, Brazil, deep-sea, Trichopeltarion, Trachycarcinus, Peltarion. INTRODUCTION To face fisheries depletion in coastal areas, a number of Brazilian fisherman have been turning their attention to unexploited deep-sea fishing grounds (see also Perez et al., 2003). Fishing activities recently conducted in Southeastern Brazilian deep-waters have yielded a wealth of decapod crustaceans as side catch.

Thanks to the efforts of Paulo Pezzuto, crustacean material caught during several fishing cruises has been stored and sent to the Zoological Museum in São Paulo for study. Among the material received is a new crab species of the genus Trichopeltarion A. Milne-Edwards, 1880. The new species is described herein and compared with its Atlantic congeners.

Additionally, comments are provided on the differentiation between the genera Trichopeltarion and Peltarion Jacquinot, 1847. Descriptive terminology follows that used by Salva & Feldmann (2001). Abbreviations are as follows: cl, carapace length, frontal spines included; cw, carapace width, lateral spines included; P 5, last pereiopod; G 2, second gonopod; mm, millimeters.

The material herein studied has been deposited in or belongs to the collections of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP), Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris (MNHN), and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. (USNM).