New records of two rare crabs of Nursia plicata (Herbst, 1803) and Trichia indica (Sankarankutty, 1968) (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) from the Gujarat coast, India
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In the present study, two rare brachyuran crabs were caught from the intertidal zone of Kachchh and identified for the first time from Gujarat, India. The first species, Nursia plicata (Herbst, 1803), previously known from the Indo-West Pacific region and the Indian coastline (Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Orissa), is reported here for the first time from the Gujarat waters. The second species, Trichia indica (Sankarankutty, 1968), was originally described from a single female specimen collected from Sri Lanka. Later, it was only known from the locality of Thailand. This specimen represents the third global record of this species, marking the first report of this species and genus from the Indian coast. Detailed morphological descriptions, habitat, and present distribution status are provided for their biogeographic range.
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