The taxonomy of two poorly known species of elbow crabs, Daldorfia spinosissima (A. Milne-Edwards, 1862) and D. triangularis Sakai, 1974 (Brachyura, Parthenopidae)

The taxonomy of Daldorfia spinosissima (A. Milne-Edwards, 1862) and D. triangularis Sakai, 1974, two large and rarely reported parthenopid species, is discussed. The taxonomy of the two species had been confused until Tan & Ng (2007) argued that both were valid taxa. The availability of fresh species material allowed direct comparisons to be made and the two taxa could, in fact, be separated by a good series of characters: carapace shape, spination on carapace surfaces and chelipeds, rostral form, shape of proepistomal spine, proportions of the third maxilliped ischium, overall structure of the chelipeds, relative lengths of the ambulatory merus, shape of the anterior thoracic sternal depression, and proportions of the male pleon, as well as structure of the male first gonopod.