A new genus of squat lobster (decapoda : anomura : galatheidae) from the south West Pacific and Indian ocean inferred from morphological and molecular evidence

In a previous phylogenetic analysis of numerous species of the genus Munida and related genera from the West Pacific based on molecular and morphological data, the monophyly of this group with the exception of M. callista was established. Morphologically, M. callista is closely related to M. brucei, M. javieri, M. hystrix and M. plexaura showing morphological differences in the shape of the rostrum, the supraocular spines, and the ridges on the epistome with respect to the genus Munida. Moreover, the analysis of the mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI showed an independent and monophyletic lineage from the genus Munida. Therefore a new genus, Babamunida, is proposed to accommodate these five species, based on morphological characters and molecular data.