New Distribution Record of Myomenippe hardwickii (Gray, 1831) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) in Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is an archipelagic country with a very long coastline. The coastal area is home to many intertidal biota that have the ability to adapt to very rapid habitat changes. Cases of cryptic species are very common in crustaceans compared to other metazoan groups. This paper reports the congruence of recognizing members of the stone crab complex species of the genus Myomenippe (Decapoda; Brachyura) based on morphological characteristics and the CO1 gene of the mitochondrial genome. The stone crabs were collected from Ujung Kulon Bay and Indramayu Beach. Morphological descriptions were made based on photos which were then used as line drawings. The DNA material used was obtained from leg muscle biopsies. The results of morphological identification and the CO1 gene of the stone crab from Indramayu were confirmed as Myomenippe hardwickii. Meanwhile, two species were found from Ujung Kulon Bay, namely Myomenippe hardwickii and Menippe rumphii.