Zoosystema
19 (2&3) - Pages 421-435Two new species of the xylicolous hermit crab genus Xylopagurus (Paguridae), X. philippinensis and X. caledonicus n.spp., are described, one from the Philippines, the other from New Caledonia ; both collected in the bathyal level. It is the first record of this genus in the Indo-West Pacific area. Until now, five species were known: one from the eastern Pacific, four from the western Atlantic. The new species are closely related, and share some common characters that distinguish them from the American species. Both show a sexual dimorphism not present in the other species of the genus, in the development of the dactylus of the fifth pereopod, much longer in males than in females. Xylopagurus philippinensis and X. caledonicus are compared with other members of the genus
Hermit crabs, Paguridae, Xylopagurus, taxonomy, new species, bathyal, sexual dimorphism, Philippines, New Caledonia.