Catapaguroides A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1892

Komai, Tomoyuki, 2017, Redescription of the pagurid hermit crab Catapaguroides fragilis (Melin, 1939) and descriptions of two new species from deep-sea off the Ryukyu Islands, Japan (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura), Zootaxa 4273 (2), pp. 235-257 : 236

Genus Catapaguroides A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1892

Remarks. Komai & Rahayu (2013) first reported on the intrageneric variation in the development of the arthrobranchs on the maxilliped 3 in Catapaguroides , although the presence or absence of gills on the maxilliped 3 had been previously considered of generic significance (e.g., McLaughlin 1997, 2003). In C. fragilis , the presence of two very small arthrobranchs on the maxilliped 3 has been confirmed, whereas in the two new species described herein, those gills are completely reduced.

With the descriptions of the two new species, 30 species are now known in Catapaguroides . Species of the genus occur in various marine habitats, e.g., shallow subtidal to bathyal depths of 1900 m, coral reefs, soft substrates of mud and sand, and marine caves ( Komai & Rahayu 2013; Arima 2014), but because of the generally small size of animals, careful sampling and sorting are essential for collections. There is no doubt that many more unknown species await discovery.