The present study describes a new species of Pyrgoma Leach, 1817, a coral associated barnacle attached to Tubastrea, from the south of New Caledonia. Pyrgoma spurtruncata sp. nov. is morphologically close to P. cancellatum Leach, 1818, P. japonica Weltner, 1897 and P. kuri Hoek, 1913 in the absence of extended tergal muscle crests. Pyrgoma cancellatum and P. kuri have a shallow, fully open, medial furrow of the tergal spur, whereas in P. spurtruncata sp. nov. the medial furrow is deeper and closed. Pyrgoma spurtruncata sp. nov. differs from P. japonica Weltner, 1897 in the width of the tergal spur and the length of the rostral tooth of the scutum. Phylogenetic analyses based on two mitochondrial markers, 12S rDNA and COI, confirm a unique, distinct clade of P. spurtruncata sp. nov. among the current available molecular information regarding Pyrgoma species.
Keywords: Crustacea, Coral associated barnacles, Pyrgoma, New Caledonia, taxonomy, new species.