An annotated checklist of the marine brachyuran crabs occurring in India is compiled from published literature and augmented by collections between 2005 and 2015. A total of 910 species belonging to 361 genera and 62 families are herein listed from Indian waters. Specimens representing 130 species were obtained from Gujarat state during 2005 and 2015, of which 23 are new records to Gujarat state and two species are reported for the first time from the west coast of India. The highest number of species were recorded from the Andaman and Nicobar islands (588 species) while the smallest number were from Goa and Karnataka state (82 species). The records indicate that the east coast of India, with 803 species, is more diverse than the west coast, which has 446 species.

Abstract.We report the presence of 3 species of brachyuran crabs, Opusia indica (Alcock, 1900), Nasima dotilliformis (Alcock, 1900) and Leptochryseus kuwaitensis (Jones & Clayton, 1983) (family Camptandriidae), for the first time from Indian waters. The species are so far reported from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Records of these species in Indian waters extend their distribution range in the northern Indian Ocean. This study was carried out as part of an ongoing study on the brachyuran crab fauna of Gujarat state, India. The specimens were collected from coastal areas of Lakhpat (23°50′01″ N, 068°46′26″ E) and Jakhau (23°13′26″ N, 068°37′37″ E) (Fig. 1) located on the coast of northern Arabian Sea in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat, and consisting of mangrove mudflat habitats. Specimens were collected by hand during low tide. Specimens were washed properly to remove sediment and photographed in the field using a Canon 1000D with 18-55 mm lens. Specimens were preserved in 70% alcohol and deposited in the Zoology Museum of the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Specimen catalogue numbers are provided in the species accounts below. Maximum carapace width (CW) and length (CL) were measured for each specimen. The abbreviation G1 is used for male first left gonopod and coll. for specimen collector.

Pilumnopeus convexus (Maccagno, 1936) (Pilumnidae) is recorded for the first time across the Indian coast. The species has so far been reported from coastal waters of the Red Sea, Pakistan and Persian Gulf. P. convexus can be easily distinguished from closely related species in having transversely hexagonal carapace, acute anterolateral teeth and tip of the male left gonopod curved to form a hook like structure. Possible explanations to the new record are discussed.

a b s t r a c tA new species, Ilyoplax sayajiraoi, belonging to the family Dotillidae is described from Gujarat state, India. It differs from its closely related species, Ilyoplax stevensi and Ilyoplax frater by differences in shape and proportions of the carapace, shape, and setae arrangement pattern on chela and morphologies of male and female abdomen. The details on the morphological differences are presented in this study.