DESCRIPTION OF A NEW PORCELLANID, PETROLISTHES-GERTRUDAE FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN-SEA (CRUSTACEA, DECAPODA, PORCELLANIDAE)

A new species of the genus Petrolisthes Stimpson, 1858, P. gertrudae, from the West Indies is described. The new species belongs to a group of Petrolisthes species characterized by the complete lack of spines o n the carapace and pereopods 1-5. The new species can be easily distin guished from other species of that group by the convex shape of the ca rpal lobe of the chelipeds, and by the pubescence which covers the out er margins of the chelae.