Two new species of the pagurid hermit crab genus Pylopaguropsis Alcock, 1905 (Decapoda: Anomura) from Japan

Two new species of the pagurid hermit crab genus Pylopaguropsis Alcock, 1905 are described and illustrated from Japanese waters. Pylopaguropsis decora sp. nov., described based on a single male specimen from Suruga Bay at a depth of 69 m, appears close to P. magnimanus (Henderson, 1896), but is easily distinguished from all known congeneric species by its characteristic sculpture and armature on the right third pereopod dactylus and propodus, as well as its characteristic living colouration.

Pylopaguropsis rufilineata sp. nov. is most similar to P. pustulosa McLaughlin & Haig, 1989, but is readily separable from the latter by the different armature and ornamentation of the right cheliped and living colouration. Nucleotide sequences of two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S rRNA genes) were newly generated for the two new species, as well as for P. zebra (Henderson, 1893), for future studies. This study increases the number of named species of the genus to 22, of which 11 species are now known from Japanese waters.

An identification key to the species of Pylopaguropsis is presented.