Pilumnidae Samouelle, 1819 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Pilumnidae) of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, with a note on their phylogeny

Members of the family Pilumnidae are common on intertidal and subtidal tropical and subtropical rocky, coral rubble and mud habitats. In the current study we collected 17 species belonging to 10 genera from the Iranian coast of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The species were examined using detailed morphological characteristics and any variation was recorded and compared with material from other geographical regions. Further, we compared 1171 base pairs of two mitochondrial genes (COI and 16S rRNA) and one nuclear gene (H3), and present reference sequences for the regional pilumnids, some of them being the first, as a useful basis for comparison with pilumnids from elsewhere. Two species, Glabropilumnus levimanus and Pilumnopeus africanus, are recorded for the first time from northwestern Indian Ocean, and a possibly undescribed species of Pilumnus was found that requires more detailed study. The results confirmed that the two previously recorded species, Pilumnus minutus De Haan, 1835 and P. vespertilio (Fabricius, 1793) do not occur in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The current diversity of Pilumnidae in the region is increased to 28 species in 14 genera. Monophyly of the given genera and species in the study area is well corroborated.