Melothelphusa dardanelosensis, Pedraza, Manuel, Tavares, Marcos & Magalhães, Célio, 2016

Pedraza, Manuel, Tavares, Marcos & Magalhães, Célio, 2016, A new genus of freshwater crab of the tribe Kingsleyini Bott, 1970 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Pseudothelphusidae) with description of a new species from Mato Grosso, Brazil, Zootaxa 4173 (1), pp. 94-100 : 96

Melothelphusa dardanelosensis n. comb. ( Magalhães & Türkay, 2010)

Material examined. Brazil, Mato Grosso, Aripuanã River, sandy beach downstream from cachoeira Andorinhas , 10°09'59.8"S, 59°27'20.2"W, D. M. Pimpão et al., leg. 10 July 2007: 1 male, 2 females paratypes ( MZUSP 21427 ).

Type locality. Aripuanã River , upstream of Dardanelos waterfall complex, 10°09'40.6"S, 59°27'41.9"W, Aripuanã, Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Distribution. This species is only known so far from the type locality in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Remarks. Magalhães & Türkay (2010) originally assigned M. dardanelosensis to the genus Brasiliothelphusa Magalhães & Türkay, 1986 , on the basis of two single characteristics of the first gonopod, namely its enlarged apical plate and the open apical field of spines not bordered by two longitudinal crests along the surface of the gonopod. However, most morphological characters used by Magalhães & Türkay (1986) for the genus Brasiliothelphusa (type species B. tapajoense Magalhães & Türkay, 1986 ) do not apply either to M. dardanelosensis or to M. apiaka n. sp. Based on the characters of the first gonopod observed in the present study, B. dardanelosensis Magalhães & Türkay, 2010 , can no longer be retained in the genus Brasiliothelphusa and it is here transferred to the new genus Melothelphusa , as M. dardanelosensis n. comb. ( Magalhães & Türkay,2010). The similarities and differences between M. dardanelosensis n. comb. and M. apiaka n. sp. are discussed below.