Spongicola andamanicus Alcock, 1901

(Figs. 2, 6A)

Spongicola andamanica Alcock, 1901: 148, pl. 2-fig. 2 (Type locality:Andaman sea).— Rathbun 1906: 901.—A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier 1909: 264.— Holthuis 1946: 66.— Saito & Takeda 2003: 120.

Spongicola andamanica andamanica —de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981: 188.

Spongicola henshawi Rathbun, 1906: 901, pl. 24-fig. 8 (Type locality: south coast of Molokai Island, Hawaii).— Holthuis 1946: 67.

Spongicola henshawi henshawi —de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981: 171, figs. 9, 10a, c–e, 11a, b, d–f, i.— Saito & Takeda 2003:120.

Spongicola henshawi spinigera de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981: 174, figs. 10b, 11c, g, h (Type locality: Philippines).— Saito & Takeda 2003:120.

Spongicola holthuisi de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981: 177, figs. 12a–i (Type locality: Philippines).— Saito & Takeda 2003: 120.

Spongicola andamanicus — Saito & Komai, 2008: 9, figs. 3–7.— Goy 2010a: 219.— De Grave & Fransen 2011: 251.— Goy 2015: 305, figs. 3, 4.— Bochini et al. 2020: 8.

Material examined. Taiwan 2000, stn CP 45, 22°48.3’N, 121°27.4’E, 2 Aug 2000, 423– 439 m, 1 female cl 3.5 mm (NTOU M02476) .

Diagnosis. Rostrum compressed, reaching distal margin of second segment of antennular peduncle; dorsal margin straight, with 9 teeth; ventral margin with 1 small tooth subdistally; lateral margin unarmed, median ridge extending to rostral basal spine. Carapace with moderately large rostral basal spine; hepatic spine absent; antennal spine acuminate; 4 relatively large anteroventral spines present, forming single oblique row. Cornea darkly pigmented, well-developed, eyestalk armed with numerous spinules. Third pereiopod overreaching antennal scale by carpus and chela; ischium with 3 dorsal spinules at midlength and 1 prominent distodorsal spine; merus with anterior parts of dorsal and ventral margins each with 1 spine, ventral medial region with row of spinules; carpus with 6 large distolateral spines; palm with dorsal and ventral margins distinctly serrated; fingers with cutting edges each armed with 1 large tooth near midlength, dactylus with dorsal margin bearing 3 large teeth. Pleon smooth; second pleonite with distinct transverse dorsal carina, second to fifth pleura unarmed. Sixth pleonite widened posteriorly, unarmed. Telson subtriangular, with 2 dorsal longitudinal ridges each bearing 4 large spines. Uropods with endopod and exopod serrated on lateral margins.

Coloration. Body whitish translucent, anterior cephalic appendages somewhat reddish pink. Cornea of eye light brown. Internal organs inside carapace light blue.

Distribution. Indo-West Pacific: Madagascar, Andaman Sea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Hawaii, and now Taiwan; at depths of 124– 815 m.

Remarks. The revision on the genera Spongicola and Paraspongicola de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981 by Saito & Komai (2008) did not follow the subspecies division of S. andamanicus proposed by de Saint Laurent & Cleva (1981). Recently Goy (2019) synonymized these two genera following the suggestion from the results of molecular analyses provided by Chen et al. (2016). At present 12 species are known in Spongicola (Bochini et al. 2020), with S. andamanicus being the most widely distributed taxon.