Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964

Macpherson, Enrique & Robainas-Barcia, Aymee, 2015, Species of the genus Galathea Fabricius, 1793 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Galatheidae) from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with descriptions of 92 new species, Zootaxa 3913 (1), pp. 1-335 : 56

Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964

Galathea australiensis .— Balss, 1913b: 13, figs 13 (Uraga Strait, Sagami Bay, and Nagasaki, 150 m) (not G. australiensis Stimpson, 1858 ).

Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964: 205 , figs 1, 2 (East China Sea, 120–122 m).— Miyake & Baba, 1967c: 228 (East China Sea, 84–130 m).— Haig, 1973: 278, fig. 2a–f (E of Rockhampton, Queensland, 31 m).— Baba, 1988: 69 (Sulu Archipelago, E of Masbate, and South China Sea off SW Luzon, 140–216 m).— Davie, 2002: 61 (list).— Komai, 2000: 352 (list).— Baba, 2005: 243 (key, synonymies).—Baba et al., 2008: 66 (compilation).—Poore et al., 2008: 19 (SW Australia, 100–382 m).— Dong & Li, 2010: 6 (East and South China Sea, Nansha Islands, 55–139 m).

? Galathea australiensis .— Yokoya, 1933: 57 (Suruga Bay and SE of Tsushima, 51–110m).

Not Galathea balssi .— Tirmizi & Javed, 1993: 47, fig. 21 (= Galathea anepipoda Baba, 1990 ).

Not Galathea balssi . —Poore et al., 2008: 19 (SW Australia, 100–382 m) (= Galathea argus n. sp.).

Material examined. Japan. Kochi Prefecture, no depth recorded: 1 ov. F 5.3 mm ( SMF).

Philippines. MUSORSTOM 1, Stn CP2, 14°03'N, 120°19'E, 182–187 m, 19 March 1976: 1 ov. F 5.7 mm, 3 F 4.1–4.4 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8232).—Stn CP3, 14°02'N, 120°16'E, 183–185 m, 19 March 1976: 2 M 3.0– 5.1 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8236).—Stn CP5,14°01'N, 120°23'E, 200–215 m, 19 March 1976: 1 F 5.9 mm (MNHN-IU- 2013-8240). — Stn CP6, 14°01'N, 120°20'E, 182–200 m, 19 March 1976: 1 F 6.8 mm (MNHN-IU-2013- 8247).— Stn CP10, 14°00'N, 120°18'E, 187–205 m, 19 March 1976: 1 M 5.9 mm, 3 ov. F 5.8–6.8 mm (MNHN- IU-2013-8238).— Stn CP20, 13°59'N, 120°20'E, 208–222 m, 21 March 1976: 1 M 5.9 mm, 1 ov. F 5.8 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8237).—Stn CP24, 14°00'N, 120°18'E, 189–209 m, 22 March 1976: 1 M 4.8 mm, 2 ov. F 5.9–6.0 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8235).— Stn CP25, 14°03'N, 120°20'E, 191–200 m, 22 March 1976: 1 M 5.7 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8234), 7 M 4.4–6.9 mm, 11 ov. F 4.8–7.0 mm, 1 F 5.5 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8233).—Stn CP27, 14°00'N, 120°19'E, 188–192 m, 22 March 1976: 1 ov. F 5.6 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8241).— Stn CP32, 14°02'N, 120°18'E, 184–193 m, 23 March 1976: 1 M 6.0 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8243).— Stn CP33, 13°59'N, 120°19'E, 187–197 m, 23 March 1976: 1 ov. F 7.1 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8248).— Stn CP36, 14°01'N, 120°20'E, 187–210 m, 23 March 1976: 1 M 3.8 mm, 1 ov. F 6.7 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8244).— Stn CP60, 14°07'N, 120°18'E, 124–129 m, 27 March 1976: 1 F 2.4 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8249).— Stn CP61, 14°02'N, 120°18'E, 184–202 m, 27 March 1976: 2 ov. F 5.6–7.8 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8239). MUSORSTOM 2, Stn CP12, 14°01'N, 120°20'E, 197–210 m, 21 November 1980: 1 ov. F 5.1 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8242). MUSORSTOM 3, Stn CP124, 12°03'N, 121°35'E, 10–123 m, 4 June 1985: 1 ov. F 5.3 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8246), 1 M 6.3 mm (MNHN-IU-2013- 13977).

Indonesia. Kei Islands. KARUBAR, Stn CP66, 09°01'S, 132°09'E, 211–217 m, 1 November 1991: 1 F 6.6 mm (MNHN-IU-2013-8245).

Vanuatu. SANTO, Stn AT69, 15°40.4'S, 167°17.3'E, 207–229 m, 5 October 2006: 1 M 3.2 mm (MNHN-IU- 2013-8250).

Remarks. The material examined agrees quite well with the original description and illustrations. Nevertheless, the parahepatic and epigastric spines can be absent in some specimens.

Galathea balssi resembles G. galene n. sp. from Vanuatu (see below under Remarks for the latter species).

Distribution. Western Pacific, from Japan to Queensland and Vanuatu, 31– 222 m.