Castro, 1997
Description of holotype: Carapace smooth, shiny, and slightly convex dorsally. Antero-lateral borders of carapace slightly curved. Epibranchial teeth acute and directed upwards. Postorbital angles obtuse. Inner suborbital teeth subacute.
Frontal border wide, arched, and clearly cut into two rounded supraorbital angles and four rounded lobes. Median lobes with several small to microscopic teeth.
Incomplete suture between second and third thoracic sternites (sternal suture 2/3), conspicuous only distally. Third maxillipeds subrectangular. Ischium of endognath with scattered punctae but no granules; dorsal border with microscopic teeth.
Chelipeds massive and slightly unequal. Right merus armed with seven teeth; left with six. Distal and proximal angles on anterior margin of carpus with blunt teeth. Well developed tomentum, consisting of numerous long plumose setae, along upper and outer margin of merus, carpus, propodus, and proximal portion of dactylus. Tomentum is more developed on propodus, where setae are more numerous and longer. Upper margin of propodus slightly keeled; lower margin cristate and armed with microscopic teeth. Fingers slender and slightly curved. Dactylus of both chelipeds armed with few small teeth; immovable fingers with cutting edge.
Merus of ambulatory legs laterally flattened with cristate dorsal margin. Dorsal margin of carpus, propodus, and dactylus with many slender, long setae. Few setae plumose. Distal end of dactylus curved with horny ridges at tip; inner (posterior) margin of last ambulatory leg (fifth pereiopod) with six thick, horny setae and, proximally, four transversal rows of setae.
Live colour of carapace and chelipeds bright orange without any spots or dots. Anterior and lateral borders of carapace and anterior border of merus and carpus of chelipeds darker orange. Ambulatory legs and ventral surface of carapace light orange; upper surface of dactylus of legs darker orange. Tomentum of chelipeds colourless; fingers brown. Eyes dark grey, almost black.
First pleopod long and slender. Apex slender and symmetrical.
Colour: Live specimens have orange carapace, chelipeds, and ambulatory legs. There are no distinctive spots, dots, or markings other than the darker orange dactylus of the ambulatory legs.
In preserved specimens colour varies between orange and yellow-orange. Fingers appear light to dark brown. Two transversal rows of very pale yellow, almost white dots may be observed on the dorsal surface of the carapace in the largest specimens, very much as in Trapezia cymodoce. The dots, however, are never a conspicuous orange-red colour as in T. cymodoce. Similar very light dots have been observed in preserved specimens of all other species of Trapezia thus far examined. Patches of dark-brown granules were observed along the anterior and lateral borders of the carapace, eyestalks, and chelipeds of a very small preserved male from French Polynesia (MNHN-25332). (Castro, 1997)
Type locality: Maître Island, New Caledonia, 22°19.80'S, 166°25.10'E, 5 m.
Range: Kenya - Mombasa (Castro, 1997a), Ras Iwatine and Mombasa (Castro, 1999a); Mozambique - Coconut Bay and Magaruque (Castro, 1999a); South Africa - KwaZulu-Natal (Castro, 1999a); Madagascar - Port Dauphin and Iles Glorieuses (Castro, 1997a), Iles Glorieuses, Tuléar, Tamatave and Port Dauphin (Castro, 1999a); Seychelles - Port Victoria and Praslin (Serène, 1984, Castro, 1997a), Mahé, Praslin, Remire Reef, Aride Island, Poivre Atoll and St. François Atoll (Castro, 1999a); Aldabra Island (Castro, 1997a, 1999a); Astove Island (Castro, 1999a); Farquhar Islands (Castro, 1999a); Saya de Malha Bank (Castro, 1999a); Réunion - La Saline (Castro, 1997a, 1999a); Mauritius (Bouvier, 1915b, Castro, 1997a, 1999a); Maldives - (Garth, 1971a), Addu Wiack (Castro, 1997a), Addu Atoll, Miladunmadulu Atoll and Malé Atoll (Castro, 1999a); Chagos Archipelago - (Rathbun, 1911), Coin, Salomon, Diego Garcia and Speakers Bank (Castro, 1999a); Sri Lanka - (Laurie, 1906, Chen P.S., 1933), Galle (Castro, 1999a); Cocos Islands (Tweedie, 1950b, Castro, 1997a, 1999a); Christmas Island (Castro, 1999a); Western Australia - Dampier Archipelago (Castro, 1997a, 1999a); Japan - Okinawa (Nagai & Nomura, 1988); Taiwan; Vietnam - Nha Trang (Castro, 1997a); Philippines (Castro, 1997a); Indonesia - Maratua Island, Borneo, Paternoster Island, Komodo, Amurang, Talisei Island, Paleleh, Lembeh Strait, Minahassa Peninsula, Tukangbesi Islands, Sumba, Karakelong Island, Ternate, Obilatu, Ambon, Kupang Bay, Boo Island, Manokwari Bay, Biak and Jayapura (Castro, 1999a); Arafura Sea (Castro, 1999b); Chesterfield Island (Castro, 1997a); New Caledonia (Castro, 1997a); Loyalty Island (Castro, 1997a); Society Islands - Moorea (Castro, 1997a, 1997b).