A new species of Perisesarma (Brachyura, Sesarmidae) from Western Australia

pA new species of sesarmid crab, Perisesarma holthuisi n. sp., is described from intertidal mangrove creeks on the central coast of Western Australia. It can be separated variously from congeners by male chela characters, including the shape and number of the dactylar tubercles, the pattern of dentition of the cutting margin of the dactylus, the male abdominal shape, and leg proportions. The composition of the genus is reviewed and a key to the Indo-West Pacific species is provided. Perisesarma De Man, 1895, is one of the larger genera in the family Sesarmidae (sensu Ng et al., 2008), and with the description of the present species, now includes 22 Indo-West Pacific species, and three from the southern Atlantic coast of West Africa./ppKeywords:dactylar tubercles; Perisesarma holthuisi; Sesarmidae; West Africa; Western Australia/p