First Record of the Rarely Known Squat Lobster, Allomunida Magnicheles Baba, 1988 (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheoidea: Galatheidae) from the Bay of Bengal, Northern Indian Ocean

The present study reports the rarely recorded species of the family Galatheidae, Allomunida magnicheles Baba 1988 , based on material from the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone. The specimens attached to an unidentified soft coral of the genus Dendronephthya Kükenthal, 1905 , were collected using a Smith McIntyre grab from the depth of 52 m in the southwestern Bay of Bengal. Previous records showed that Allomunida magnicheles was known only from the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia; the present specimens greatly extend the distribution range of the species westwards to the Indian Ocean. Morphological description and intraspecific variations of A. magnicheles are provided.