Trapezia speciosa Dana, 1852

Trapezia speciosa Dana, 1852: 83, pl. 15, fig. 1 (colour) (Plate 3D).

Remarks. The colour pattern illustrated in the colour figure of Dana (1852: pl. 15, fig. 1) of a French Polynesian specimen depicts a series of red lines in a rather regular geometric pattern (Plate 3D). A similar pattern is shown in the drawings of western Indian Ocean specimens given by Richters (1880: pl. 16, figs. 9, 10). Richter's illustrations, unfortunately, only showed the lines on the anterior part of the carapace. Photographs of preserved Vietnamese specimens in Serène (1959: pl. 2, figs. A, B), however, show a very different pattern of thicker, diffuse and irregular red­brown lines much closer to those of T. garthi (see Galil 1983: fig. 9B). Examination of numerous live and preserved specimens from French Polynesia (Castro 1997b) and the western Indian Ocean (Castro 1999b) has demonstrated that the red lines on the carapace are typically sinuous and interconnected (Galil 1983: fig. 9C; Serène 1984: pl. 38, fig. E; Castro 1997b: pl. 1, fig. F [colour]) but they sometimes follow a more regular geometric pattern. Although all the available evidence points to the fact that recent records are conspecific with Dana's species, it would be better if a neotype is designated.

Dana's type material is lost. The type locality is Carlshoff Island (= Aratika Island) in the Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia (Dana 1852: 254). A female (MNHN­B 27681 [ex B 25319]; cl 8.3 mm, cw 10.7 mm) from Moruroa (Mururoa) Atoll (21º50’S, 138º50’W), Tuamotu Archipelago (Castro 1997b: pl. 1, fig. F [colour]) is herein designated as the neotype. It was collected by J. Poupin and SMSRB divers from Pocillopora at a depth of 5–10 m on March 1996.