Spinicallianassa Poore, Dworschak, Robles, Mantelatto and Felder, 2019

Poore, Gary C. B., 2023, New records, one new genus and 21 new species of Callianassidae (Crustacea, Axiidea) from the Indo-West Pacific, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 82, pp. 167-255 : 238-239

Spinicallianassa Poore, Dworschak, Robles, Mantelatto and Felder, 2019

Spinicallianassa Poore et al., 2019: 99–100 .— Robles et al., 2020: figs 1, 3, 6.— Poore and Ahyong, 2023: 214 .

Remarks. Species of Spinicallianassa have an acute rostrum. Larger adults of most species have a longitudinal groove, sometimes well defined by a sharp ridge, on the lateral face of the palm running onto the fixed finger. The eyestalk is more swollen and convex laterally than in other callianassid genera except Caviallianassa , which it somewhat resembles; Spinicallianassa differs from Caviallianassa in having a spine between a third and half way along the lower margin of the cheliped merus rather than smaller subproximal spine(s). A feature of most species is the small tubercle at the lower limit of the distomesial margin of the cheliped palm.

Robles et al. (2020) recognised three undescribed species of which one, S. aff. acutirostella ( Sakai, 1988) , is here reidentified as S. spinicauda (Komai, Maenosono and Fujita, 2014) . Three new species, one from Papua New Guinea, a second principally from French Polynesia, and a third from southwestern Australia are described as new. The identity of S. acutirostella remains problematic (see below). Differences between the species are slight, and were it not for the genetic separation all could be viewed as one variable species. The best illustrated species is S. spinicauda (Komai, Maenosono and Fujita, 2014) . The diagnoses below concentrate on few critical characters.