Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964

Dong, Chao & Li, Xinzheng, 2010, Reports of Galathea Fabricius, 1793 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidae) from Chinese waters, with descriptions of two new species, Zootaxa 2687, pp. 1-28 : 6-7

Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964

Galathea australiensis . — Balss 1913: 13, figs 13 (not G. australiensis Stimpson, 1858 ).

Galathea balssi Miyake & Baba, 1964: 205 , figs 1, 2 (type locality: East China Sea, 120–122 m); 1967: 228. — Haig 1973: 278, fig. 2a–f. — Baba 1988: 69; 2005: 243. — Komai 2000: 252. — Poore et al. 2008: 19. — Wang 2008: 749. — Baba et al. 2008: 66 .

Material examined. East China Sea. MBM 042820, 2 males (5.3, 5.6 mm), 3 ovigerous females (6.3–6.6 mm), St. 4082, 28°N, 123.5°E, CN D40B-36, 84 m, brown muddy sand, 1 Jul.1959; MBM 042822, 1 male (7.3 mm), 2 ovigerous females (6.4, 7.9 mm), St. 4082, 28°N, 123.5°E, CN D143B-9, 81 m, brown sand, AT, 9 Dec.1959; MBM 042823, 2 males (4.4, 5.4 mm), St. 4083, 28°N, 124°E, CN D45B-78, 88 m, AT, 4 Jun.1959; MBM 042824, 1 ovigerous female (7.5 mm), St. 4084, 27.5°N, 121°E, CN D139B-11, 95 m, sand and mud, AT, 7 Dec.1959; MBM 042926, 2 ovigerous females (5.0, 5.9 mm), St. 4081, 28°N, 123°E, CN 19- 23, 81 m, BT, 2 Feb.1959; MBM069830, 6 males (5.6–7.0 mm), 5 ovigerous females (5.6–6.9 mm), St. 6082, 18°N, 113°E, CN D113B-36, 86 m, muddy sand, AT, 25 Oct.1959; MBM069831, 1 male (7.3 mm), St. 4083, 28°N, 124°E, CN D140B-4, 8 Dec.1959; MBM 150238, 3 males (2.8–3.6 mm), St. V-8, CN V472B- 45, 100 m, fine sand, AT, 10 Oct.1975; MBM 150239, 2 males (3.6, 4.3 mm), St. IV-7, CN V554B- 72, 126 m, fine sand, AT, 21 Sep.1976; MBM 150359, 1 ovigerous female (5.5 mm), St. V5, CN V474B-62, 90 m, fine sand, AT, 11 Oct.1975; MBM 150243, 1 ovigerous female (4.5 mm), St. VI-3, CN V527B- 24, 130 m, fine sand and broken shell, AT, 29 Aug.1976; MBM 150244, 1 male (4.5 mm), 1 ovigerous female (5.6 mm), St. V-3, CN V519B- 121, 105 m, fine sand, AT, 27 Aug.1976; MBM 150247, 1 ovigerous female (5.0 mm), St. G-2, CN V463B-32, 55 m, fine sand, AT, 8 Oct.1975; MBM 150248, 4 males (3.2–5.5 mm), 1 ovigerous female (4.8 mm), St. V-7, CN V473B- 64, 100 m, fine sand, AT, 10 Oct.1975; MBM 150249, 3 males (3.5–6.3 mm), 2 ovigerous females (4.2, 5.5 mm), St. N-5, CN V495B- 3, 110 m, AT, 4 Jul.1976; MBM 150254, 2 ovigerous females (3.8, 4.4 mm), St. V-6, CN V496B- 3, 115 m, AT; MBM 150255, 3 males (2.9–5.7 mm), 1 female (2.98 mm), 4 ovigerous females (2.9–4.9 mm), St. 30, CN V570B- 31, 138 m, fine sand, AT, 11 Jun.1978; MBM 150256, 1 ovigerous female (6.2 mm), St. IV-2, CN V493B-21, 85 m, muddy sand, AT, 4 Jul.1976; MBM 150257, 6 males (2.8–5.0 mm), 2 females (2.3, 2.5 mm), 4 ovigerous females (2.9–4.2 mm), St. V-2, CN V499B- 10, 112 m, fine sand, AT, 5 Jul.1976; MBM 150258, 1 female (3.0 mm), 1 ovigerous female (5.3 mm), St. VI-4, CN V526B- 102, 139 m, fine sand, AT, 29 Aug.1976; MBM 150259, 1 male (4.8 mm), 1 ovigerous female (4.9 mm), St. V-4, CN V500B-4, 94 m, AT, 5 Jul.1976; MBM 150260, 1 male (5.4 mm), CN W8B-28, 74 m, sand, AT, 15 Aug.1964; MBM 150262, 15 males (4.9–8.0 mm),1 ovigerous female (5.4 mm), East China Sea, St. 4083, CN D140B-4, 90 m, brown sand, AT, 8 Dec.1959; MBM 150263, 10 males (2.8–5.8 mm), 4 females (2.9–4.7 mm), 20 ovigerous females (2.9–5.9 mm), St. V-3, CN V519B- 122, 105 m, fine sand, AT, 27 Aug.1976; MBM 150318, 1 male (3.1 mm), CN V489B-16, 82 m, muddy sand, AT, 27 Jun.1976; MBM 150341, 1 male (2.9 mm), St. V–3, CN V519B- 123, 105 m, fine sand, AT, 27 Aug.1976; MBMB 150261, 5 males (3.4–5.3 mm), 2 females (1.9, 3.9 mm), 5 ovigerous females (4.4–5.8 mm), St. V-5, CN V474B-37, 90 m, fine sand, AT, 11 Oct.1975.

South China Sea. MBM069827, 2 males (4.0, 7.4 mm), St. 6079, 19.5°N, 113°E, CN K88B- 38, 128 m, sand, AT, 20 Oct.1959; MBM069828, 1 female (4.1 mm), St. 6109, CN L59B-l 1, 194 m, moderate sand, AT, 21 Apr.1959; MBM069829, 1 female (6.8 mm), St. 6079, 19.5°N, 113°E, CN K134B- 14, 121 m, muddy sand, AT. Nansha Islands: MBM 150230, Mengzi coral reef, CN 4-5, 78 m, coral, TT, 25 May 1990.

Distribution. Previously known from East China Sea, Japan, East of Masbate, Sulu Archipelago, Eastern of Rockhampton, Queensland, Southwestern Australia; 31– 382 m. Now also known from South China Sea; 78– 194 m. The present report extends the bathymetric range of the species in the East China Sea from 84–130 m to 55– 139 m.

Remarks. The specimens agree well with the descripton of Miyake & Baba (1964), with the exception of the Mxp3 merus in three males (MBM 150262). The three male specimens have three spines on the flexor margin, in which the proximal spine is strong and the distal and median spines are much smaller than the proximal. The holotype of G. balssi has two spines on the flexor margin of the Mxp3 merus, the distal of which is smaller.