Pseudothelphusa proxima Rathbun, 1905

(Figs 12D; 17)

Pseudothelphusa proxima Rathbun, 1904: 242 (nomen nudum).

Pseudothelphusa proxima Rathbun, 1905: 281, pl. 13 fig. 10; 1906: 501 (in list). — Coifmann 1939: 109 (in list). — Rodríguez 1982: 192.

Isabellagordonia (Pseudospirothelphusa) proxima – Pretzmann 1972: 94, fig. 571.

TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Holotype. Guatemala • ♀, dry; Alta Verapaz, from the environs of Cobán; [15°28’40”N, 90°24’08”W]; M. Bocourt leg.; Expédition du Mexique, 1864-1866; MNHN Entry 192-1866; MNHN-IU-2000-3854 (= MNHN-B3854).

REMARKS

Rodríguez (1982) conjectured that this species could be a junior synonym of Ps. propinqua and both are very closely related to Ph. acanthophallus . The somatic characters that describe these species do not allow a clear distinction between them and, as commented above (see Remarks on Ph. acanthophallus), even with the relatively little material available for this study, a certain degree of morphological variation in G1 of Ph. acanthophallus was noticed, which could indicate that a complex of species could occur in this region. The resolution of this issue can only be achieved through a study that carries out a much more comprehensive inventory of the crab fauna in the department of Alta Verapaz and the surrounding region.