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Integrative taxonomy reveals a new species in Raphidopus, indicating biodiversity in marine environments.
Raphidopus ciliatus Stimpson, 1858 is believed to be widely distributed across the Indo-West Pacific and has been reported along the entire coast of China. However, molecular and morphological analyses reveal the presence of a cryptic species in northern Chinese waters, described herein as R. xinzhengi Dong, Wan & Wang sp. nov. The COI sequences of the two species of Raphidopus show 8.7–9.0% divergence, higher than each intraspecific variation. The new species can be distinguished from R. ciliatus primarily by the arrangement of granules on the cheliped carpus, the length/width ratio of the cheliped carpus, and the length/width ratio of the merus of the first ambulatory leg. An updated key to the species of the genus Raphidopus is provided.
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Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.
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