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Abstract. The sand crabs are crustaceans in Indonesian waters. The diversity of sand crabs in Indonesia is poorly understood due to the small number of studies that have been conducted. The present study revealed the diversity of Indonesian sand crabs, and assessed their phylogenetic relationships using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and morphological characteristics. Sand crabs were collected from 14 locations spread across several sandy intertidal ranges in Sumatra (west Aceh, Padang, Bengkulu), Jawa (Pelabuhanratu, Cilacap), Bali (eastern and northern part), West Nusa Tenggara (Gili Meno Islands), Sulawesi (Tangkoko, Talise, Lero, Banggai, Buton), and southeast Maluku (the Kei Islands). Thirty-two morphological characteristics and CO1 mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) were used to construct a phylogenetic tree. Two genera and six species were identified based on morphological characteristics. The carapace shape, antennae, and pereopods were the main characteristics that separated the Hippa and Emerita species. The CO1 marker data helped to verify the morphological data. Morphology and DNA analyses were congruent between Hippa and Emerita. H. adactyla and E. emeritus were distributed on the west coast of Sumatra and southern Java (Indian Ocean), whereas H. marmorata, H. celaeno, H. ovalis, and H. admirabilis were distributed throughout the northern and southern Pacific Ocean (Sulawesi and Kei Islands).
Key Words: CO1, Indonesia, hippidae, morphology, phylogeny.
Introduction. Sand crabs belong to the infraorder Anomura, and are a common species that inhabit sandy beach areas. They can be found in the swash zone of intertidal sandy areas, and are a very diverse species. The Hippoidea is a sand crab superfamily that has been divided into three families, including the Blepharipodidae, Hippidae, and Albuneidae (Stimpson 1858). Three genera of Hippoidea have been recorded in the western Indo- Pacific region, including 37 of all of the species recorded (Boyko & Harvey 1999). Miers (1878) reanalyzed the Hippidae family and divided them into two genera: the Hippa and the Mastigochirus.
In Indonesia, the Hippidae are widely distributed along the west coast of Sumatra and the south coast of Java, and are divided into three genera: the Hippa, Emerita, and Mastigochirus (Boyko & Harvey 1999). However, the diversity of sand crabs in Indonesia is poorly understood, most likely due to the complexity of their morphological characteristics and the similarity of their body...