Decapoda - Brachyura - Epialtidae - Menaethius

Menaethius orientalis (Sakai, 1969)



World Distribution
Sakai (2004 - CD) - Indo-West Pacific. Red Sea, Mauritius, Indonesia, Australia, Japan. Plus French Polynesia from Moorea Biocode project. Réunion, Glorieuses, Mayotte.
Griffin & Tranter (1986) - 37-54 m.

Environnement : Marine - Substrat/Association : Associated with algae

Vertical range : Shallow-waters (0-100 m) - Min-Max observed: 0-54 m

Mayotte data
Menaethius orientalis (Sakai, 1969)
Material examined — Mayotte KUW 2009, st. 14, Prudente Bank, 15-17 m, 2 FF 4.9 x 3.7 and 7.3(rostrum broken) x 4.7 mm, 2 FF ov. 7.8 x 4.9 mm and 8.8 x 5.4 mm, MNHN B32547, MNHN-IU-2009-1307; st. 17, northern Reef, 22 m, 1 M 3.5 x 2.0 mm, 1 F ov. 7.3 x 4.5 mm, MNHN B32548, MNHN-IU-2009-1308; st. 30, Rani reef double barrier, 3-15 m, 1 M 8.1 x 5.2 mm, MNHN B32549, MNHN-IU-2009-1309; st. 35, Surprise reef, Longoni pass, 4-25 m, 1 M 8.7 x 5.3 and 1 F ov. 8.1 x 5.1 mm, MNHN B32550, MNHN-IU-2009-1310.
Other records — Poupin et al., 2013c: 11, Glorieuses (photo with live coloration). Expedition Glorieuses December 2012 (new record) - from BIOTAS 2009 photos, sp. MEPA1041.
Remarks — Menaethius orientalis can be separated from M. monoceros by shorter rostrum and presence carinae on legs (absent in M. monoceros). Male pleopod was checked and is conform to figures given by Griffin & Tranter (1986 : 69, fig. 18c, d). Live coloration observed for specimens from Glorieuses and Moorea (cf. Legall & Poupin, 2018) is bright red on carapace with ambulatory legs banded in red and white.
Geographic and depth ranges — IWP, Red Sea, Mayotte (this work) to Japan, French Polynesia; subtidal to 54 m.

Réunion data
Epialtus orientalis - Ribes, 1978 (Réunion). - Menaethius orientalis - Ng et al., 2008 : 101 (Liste des noms valides).

Central Pacific data (Wallis & Futuna, Polynesia, Clipperton, Easter Island)
Menaethius orientalis - Moorea Biocode project first record for FP. - Leray et al., 2012: 386, Coral Reef, Moorea, Biocode.

References : PDF list, 214 pp (1.4 Mo)

This species in Worms Database