Two new shrimps of the genus Philocheras (Decapoda, Caridea, Crangonidae) from East Asian waters

Two new species of the crangonid genus Philocheras, P. gemmaceus and P. fuj inoi, are described and illustrated from East Asian waters. Both were previ ously treated insufficiently; one was erroneously referred to Pontophilus c andidus Kemp, and the other, Pontophilus sp. of Fujino and Miyake (1970), w as left unnamed, because only a single, mutilated specimen was available. T he first new species, P. gemmaceus, is more closely related to P. planoculm inus Bruce than to P. candidus (Kemp). Philocheras gemmaceus is readily dis tinguishable from them by the combination of the wider rostrum, the presenc e of the median gastric spine in females and the bud-like appendix interna of the endopod of the second to fifth pleopods in males. More complete mate rial from the northern South China Sea confirms the validity of the latter new species, P. fujinoi, which is distinguished from other members of the g enus by the presence of one gastric spine, three frontal spines on the post -orbital carina, two spines situated behind branchiostegal spine, the minut e spine just mesial to the antennal spine, and the movable thumb of the fir st pereiopod.