On two rare and poorly known species, Stylodactylus discissipes Bate, 1888, and S. serratus A. Milne-Edwards, 1881 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Stylodactylidae)

More than a century after its description from the Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand, Stylodactylus discissipes Bate, 1888 has been rediscovered south of New Caledonia, and in the Austral Islands, French Polynesia. DNA analyses show that specimens from these two widely separated areas clearly belong to the same species, and represent two populations that appear to be in early stages of speciation through isolation. Stylodactylus discissipes shares numerous morphological characters with S. serratus A. Milne-Edwards, 1881, known from the eastern and western Atlantic, so that the synonymy of the two species could be considered. Molecular data support the small morphological differences observed, giving evidence that these two species are indeed different.