A record of Arcania brevifrons Chen, 1989 (Crustacea; Decapoda; Leucosiidae) from the Mediterranean coast of Israel.

Two adult specimens of Arcania brevifrons, a leucosiid crab native to the Indo-West Pacific Ocean, were recently collected off the southern Israeli coast, at the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. Molecular analyses based on the mitochondrial barcoding gene cytochrome oxidase sub unit I (COI) revealed two closely related haplotypes and suggest the species has entered the Mediterranean on at least two separate occasions. This is the fourth Erythraean leucosiid species recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of an ovigerous female may indicate the existence of an established population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]