Mykescola gen. nov., a new genus for two coral-dwelling gall crab species (Decapoda: Cryptochiridae) inhabiting Fungiidae Dana, 1846 corals

The cryptochirid genus Fungicola Serène, 1968 contains three valid species that inhabit mushroom corals of the family Fungiidae Dana, 1846. Phylogenetic reconstructions of the Cryptochiridae revealed the polyphyletic nature of this genus, which is here resolved with the description of a new genus: Mykescola gen. nov. The gall crab species Fungicola fagei (Fize & Serène, 1956) and F. syzygia van der Meij, 2015 are transferred to the new genus, rendering Fungicola monotypic with F. utinomi (Fize & Serène, 1956) as the sole representative. A diagnosis for the new genus, an overview of the morphological characters and list of fixed nucleotide positions distinguishing Fungicola from Mykescola gen. nov. are provided.

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