Grapsus cruentatus Latreille, 1803

(Fig. 3D)

Grapsus cruentatus Latreille, 1803: 70 .

CURRENT TAXONOMIC STATUS. — Goniopsis cruentata (Latreille, 1803), accepted recombination (see Kinglsey 1880: 190).

NEOTYPE (by present designation). — MNHN-IU-2000-3407 (= MNHN-B3407), ♂ 40.9 × 49.8mm, Martinique, coll. M. Plée. — Original label: “ Grapsus cruentatus Latreille, Martinique, M. Plée ”; “ Plée, Martinique, 1826, n°28” is written with Chinese ink directly on the left cheliped.

PRESERVATION. — Dry. LP4, RP5 dactylus, right eye missing, LP2 detached.

REMARKS

Latreille (1803: 70) described this species from the islands of South America (“îles de l’Amérique méridionale”), imprecise information (as it was common in the past) indicating the geographical origin. Henri Milne Edwards (1837: 85) has added two localities, Brazil and Antilles, based on specimens present at that time in the collection of the MNHN (as “C.M.”). Today, the MNHN collection contains several samples of dry specimens labelled Grapsus or Goniopsis cruentatus, from Brazil, Mexico, French Guiana and Martinique. They were all collected too late to belong to the type series; moreover, some of the localities cannot be considered “islands of South America”. For example: (1) the sample with one specimen MNHN-IU-2000-3406 (= MNHN-B3406) collected from Brazil by Delalande in 1816 (see Appendix), a date that is too late to have enabled Latreille (1803) to examine the material; (2) the sample with one specimen MNHN-IU-2000-3403 (= MNHN-B3403) labelled “ Brésil, (Destero), M. Müller” (with a note by “Monod 1953”, indicating this specimen as being a new species of Metopograpsus).

Concerning the sample from Martinique in the MNHN collection, which could correspond to the type locality, consisting of two males collected by M. Plée, it cannot belong to the type series: the material of Plée was collected after 1820 (Bauchot et al. 1990: 117; see Appendix), and this is confirmed by the entry date “1826” of Plée’s material in the CAA. Since no MNHN material conforms to a presumed syntype and no name-bearing type is believed to be extant, a neotype should be designated. The more complete male of the MNHN-B3406 sample has been selected as neotype, MNHN-IU-2000-3407 (= MNHN-B3407). The slightly smaller male specimen has been separated and is registered as MNHN-IU-2000-1109 (= MNHN-B3407).