Brachyuran crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the remote oceanic Archipelago Trindade and Martin Vaz, South Atlantic Ocean
Author
In, First Published
text
Zootaxa
2022
2022-06-02
5146
1
129
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5146.1.1
11755334
7626155
52C3E5E3-80B6-49DB-BC9C-194560D491F7
Mecataleptodius
gen. nov.
Type
species.
Cancer parvulus
Fabricius, 1793: 451
, by original designation [
Type
locality: “Americae meridionalis insulis”]. Gender: masculine.
Species included.
Mecataleptodius parvulus
(Fabricius, 1793),
gen.
nov., comb. nov.
, and
Mecataleptodius olsoni
(
Manning & Chace, 1990
)
,
gen. nov., comb. nov.
(
type
locality:
Ascension Island
).
Etymology.
The name
Mecataleptodius
is formed from the Greek prefix “me” (not) and the masculine generic name
Cataleptodius
.
Diagnosis.
Carapace suboval (
Fig. 34A, C
), about 1.5 times broader than long, moderately convex anteriorly, flat posteriorly. Areas of carapace generally well recognizable, anterior two-thirds lobulated, but not posteriorly. Anterolateral margin cut into 5 broad teeth or lobes; posterolateral margins nearly straight, strongly convergent. Frontorbital margin (exorbital tooth included) about half of maximum carapace width, incised in middle line. Orbits suboval; eyestalks short, massive. Antennal flagellum not excluded from orbit, lodged in infraorbital notch. Chelipeds (
Fig. 34A–C, E
) slightly to moderately unequal in both sexes; tips of fingers spooned. Pleon of male with somites 3–5 fused. Gonopod as illustrated (
Fig. 35D, E
).
Remarks.
The two species here transferred to
Mecataleptodius
gen. nov.
strongly differ from the species in
Cataleptodius
Guinot, 1968
, in the morphology of the first gonopod, as revealed by its
type
species,
C. floridanus
(
Gibbes, 1850
)
(
type
locality: Key West, Florida), and the east Pacific
C. occidentalis
(
Stimpson, 1871b
)
(
type
locality:
Panama
and Manzanillo,
Mexico
) (
Figs. 35A–C
,
36C
). In
Mecataleptodius
gen. nov.
the first gonopod ends in a rounded apical projection extending beyond the subterminal field of spines and long setae (
Fig. 35D, E
).
Ng
et al.
(2008)
suspected that
Mecataleptodius parvulus
gen. nov., comb. nov.
, was not a member of
Cataleptodius
by referring to it with a question mark,?
Cataleptodius parvulus
.
Barros-Alves
et al.
(2013)
compared the first zoea stage of
M. parvulus
gen. nov., comb. nov.
(as
Cataleptodius parvulus
) with the first zoea of a number of other
Xanthidae
(including
Cataleptodius floridanus
) and opined that the differences found suggested that it was not a member of
Leptodius
A.
Milne-Edwards, 1869
,
Xantho
Leach, 1814
,
Xanthodius
Stimpson, 1859
, or
Cataleptodius
, as also shown herein by the morphology of the first male gonopod (
Figs. 35A–E
,
36A–D
).
More research is necessary to confirm as to whether or not other species currently included in
Cataleptodius
actually belong to
Mecatalecptodius
gen. nov.