Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970

Paratelphusa (Globitelphusa) Alcock, 1909; 1910: 117 (part) (not Paratelphusa (Globitelphusa) Alcock, 1909).

Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970: 44 .

Gubernatoriana Bahir and Yeo, 2007: 334 .

Gubernatoriana Ng et al. 2008: 67 .

Type species

Paratelphusa (Globitelphusa) gubernatoris Alcock, 1909, by original designation.

Diagnosis (revised after Bott 1970; based on type species and present material)

Carapace squarish (cl/cw 0.78–0.92) (cw 1.1–1.3 times cl), flat (ch/cl 0.6); anterolateral margin short, nearly straight; front vertically deflexed, narrow (fw/cw 0.35–0.42); epigastric crests slightly developed; postorbital crests indistinct; external orbital angle poorly developed; epibranchial tooth indistinct; cervical grooves indistinct; mesogastric groove long, without bifurcation posteriorly; frontal median triangle incomplete with only dorsal margin visible; epistomal median lobe broadly triangular, lacking median tooth (Figure 6A,B; Bott 1970: pl. 6, figs 60, 61; pl. 34, figs 33, 35). Chelipeds unequal. Ambulatory legs with fine bristles. Suture between thoracic sternites s2/s3 indistinct or visible as a small groove and between s3/s4 visible as grooves on sides only (Figures 6C, 7A; Bott 1970: pl. 6, fig. 62; pl. 34, fig. 34). Male abdomen short T-shaped; fifth abdominal somite much broader than long; sixth abdominal somite slightly broader than long, subequal in length to telson; telson short; male sternoabdominal cavity deep, long, extending beyond level of cheliped bases or even beyond level of third maxilliped bases (Figures 6C, 7B; Bott 1970: pl. 6, fig. 62; pl. 34, fig. 34). Exopods of first, second maxillipeds with long flagellum; exopod of third maxilliped lacking flagellum, exopod longer than ischium (Figure 7D). G1 short, stout with long terminal article (0.35–0.50 times length of subterminal segment); subterminal segment much broader than terminal article (Figure 7E–G; see Bott 1970: pl. 27, fig. 27; pl. 34, fig. 36). G2 short with very short or vestigial terminal article (Figure 7H).

Remarks

Gubernatoriana is morphologically close to Ghatiana, new genus, but can be differentiated based on some significant external morphological characters (see Remarks for Ghatiana). This genus is distinguished from Snaha and Pilarta by the short terminal article of G2 (Figure 7H) (vs long terminal article of G2) (Bahir and Yeo 2007: figs. 25H, 27G, 29E). Gubernatoriana is distinguished from Inglethelphusa by the long third maxilliped exopod and short, stout G1 (vs short third maxilliped exopod and long, narrow G1) (Figure 7D–F; Bott 1970: pl. 34, figs. 26, 28). Gubernatoriana escheri (Roux, 1931) was recently assigned to the genus Snaha, while Gubernatoriana nilgiriensis (Roux, 1931) and Gubernatoriana pusilla (Roux, 1931) were both transferred to the genus Vanni (Bahir and Yeo 2007; Ng et al. 2008).

Gubernatoriana Bott, 1970, now consists of three species: Gubernatoriana gubernatoris (Alcock 1909), Gubernatoriana pilosipes (Alcock 1909), and Gubernatoriana triangulus sp. nov.

Ecological notes

These crabs are found in small streams, under small stones in high-altitude areas in Western Ghats of India (Pati and Sharma, unpublished data).

Distribution

Northern Western Ghat Mountains (Maharashtra: Satara, Pune); Karnataka: North- Canara (Bott 1970) .