Zoeal stages of Pseudomicippe varians Miers, 1879 (Decapoda: Brachyura: Majoidea: Majidae) and a comparison with other Majidae larvae WILLIAM SANTANA 1 , FERNANDO P. L. MARQUES 2 & MAURO CARDOSO JUNIOR 2 1 Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Av Ipiranga, 481 Ipiranga, Sa ˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil, and 2 Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biocie ˆncias, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Sa ˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil (Accepted 17 November 2006) Abstract Pseudomicippe varians Miers, 1879 is a majid crab recorded from Western Australia (Shark Bay) and northern Queensland. The zoeal stages are described from laboratory reared material. The zoeal stages of P. varians can be easily distinguished by the absence of carapace spines and extremely large mandibles. These characters are likely diagnostic among majoideans in general. Additionally, recent phylogenetic studies of majoids using larval characters showed the Majidae as one of the few families for which there is larval support for its monophyly. Furthermore, based on the monophyly of Majidae and the morphology of P. varians, a set of characters is established that could be used as a diagnostic for majids in general. Keywords: Larval development, Majidae, Pseudomicippe varians Introduction The family Majidae (sensu Martin and Davis 2001), previously considered as the subfamily Majinae, includes 20 genera, with the majority of 70 species occurring in the Indo-west Pacific, the remaining members consisting of two monotypic genera in the east Pacific, and three genera with few species in Atlantic waters (Griffin & Tranter 1986). However, knowledge on the larval morphology of this family is restricted to 11 species. Larval accounts for Majidae are available for species of Maja Lamarck, 1801 (Couch 1843; Bell 1844; Claus 1876; Cano 1893; Schlegel 1911; Lebour 1927; Bourdillon-Casanova 1960; Heegaard 1963; Terada 1981; Paula 1985, 1988; Clark 1986; Ingle 1991; Rodriguez 2002), Schizophrys White, 1848 (Kurata 1969; Kakati & Nayak 1979; Tirmizi & Kazmi 1987), Notomithrax Griffin, 1963 (Webber & Wear 1981), Jacquinotia Rathbun, 1915 (Webber & Wear 1981), and Leptomithrax Miers, 1876 (Kurata 1969; Webber & Wear 1981). Correspondence: William Santana, Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de Sa ˜o Paulo, Av Ipiranga, 481 Ipiranga, Caixa Postal 42494, 04218-970 Sa ˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil. Tel: 55(11)6165-8122. Fax: 55(11)61658115. Email: wsantana@ib.usp.br Published 29 December 2006 Journal of Natural History, 2006; 40(44–46): 2411–2422 ISSN 0022-2933 print/ISSN 1464-5262 online # 2006 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/00222930601129356