The rare lobster genus Thaumastocheles (Decapoda : Thaumastochelidae) fromthe Indo-Pacific, with description of a new species

Abundant material of the rare lobster genus Thaumastocheles, recently colle cted from Taiwan, led to an extensive survey of the Indo-Pacific specimens of this genus deposited at various institutions. Altogether 82 specimes of Thaumastocheles from the Indo-Pacific (Madagascar to Japan and New Caledoni a at depths of 70-1,753 m) were examined and 2 distinct species are recogni zed. The 2 species, T. japonicus Calman, 1913, and T. dochmiodon, new speci es, differ mainly in the shape of the cutting teeth of the first chelae and the lateral carinae of the abdominal tergites. Both species are found in J apan, Taiwan, and the South China Sea.