Abstract
Four new species of the badly known genre Megapleon Huang, Shih and Ahyong, 2018, are described in the province of Guangdong, China: Megapleonum falx sp. nov. from the city of Huizhou, M. Yangdonense sp. nov. from the city of Yangjiang, and both M. Ferrumequinum sp. nov. and M. Wangjiani sp. nov. of the city of Maoming. These four new species are all morphologically and genetically different from each other and the two familiar congeners Megapleonum Ehuangzhang Huang, Shih and Ahyong, 2018 and Megapleonum Shenzhen Huang and Mao, 2021. Extremely divergent morphology of the gonopod 1 of these species only distinguishes them immediately, but there are also different differences in other characters, including the shell, the ambulatory leg and the Maxilliped 3 Flagelum exopods. A phylogenesis built using mitochondrial DNA reveals that all species of Megapleon It forms a deeply rooted monofiletic group with genetic distances significant interests, which supports the generic placement and specific treatments of these new taxa. A key to the species of Megapleon It is also provided.
Keywords: 16S rdna, aquatic species, China, new taxa, systematic
#species #science #Crustacea #Megapleonum #Ferrumequinum #Wangjiani #species #freshwater #crab #genus #Megapleonum #decapoda #Potamidae #Guangdong #China
