A new genus and two new species of Cypridinidae (Crustacea: Ostracoda: Myodocopina) from Australia
Author
Parker, A. R.
text
Records of the Australian Museum
1998
1998-05-13
50
1
1
17
https://journals.australian.museum/parker-1998-rec-aust-mus-501-117/
journal article
10.3853/j.0067-1975.50.1998.1271
60736e24-69a2-4243-a420-19c77c0d57b4
0067-1975
4652841
Lowrya
n.gen.
Diagnosis. Unique characters are an elongate frontal knob and a spine mid-way along ventral margin of second exopodial article of the second antenna. Unusual characters are as follows. A rectangular oval carapace (with rounded corners); red colouration on rostrum when viewed from certain directions due to strong sclerotization (structural colour, not to be confused with maroon pigmentation of first antennae which is often visible through the carapace); lateral processes arising from rostrum, along dorsal edge of incisure. First antenna: very large basal "sucker" of cseta on adult male first antennae, arising from separate cup-like basal section; some halophores (setules on first antennae;
Parker, 1995
,
1998
) with spinules. Second antenna: endopodite with 3 articles; spine on ventral margin of second exopodial article; third exopodial article seta with proximal robust setae. Mandible with three broad terminal claws (of similar length), ventromedial and ventrolateral mandibular claws with very long spinules. Fourth limb: 1 <x-seta (with many setules) and 2 ~-setae. Sixthlimb: terminal article shortand approximately square. Seventh limb: few non-terminal and terminal setae; few terminal long and short teeth. Male copulatory "limb": hood with peak with an abrupt joint near inner edge of limb. Furca: very broad fourth claw; claws 2 and 4 fused to lamella. Upper lip: single unpaired anteroventral field of nozzles; short tusks. Posterior of male body: without dorsal folds.
Type
species.
Lowrya taiti
n.sp.
Species composition.
Lowrya
contains
L. taiti
n.sp.
and
L. kornickeri
n.sp.
Etymology. In honour of James K. Lowry, carcinologist, who discovered new guilds of scavenging crustaceans off
Australia
with unexpected compositions, including high proportions of cypridinids.
Remarks.
Lowrya
is most similar to the monotypic genus
Sheina
Harding, 1966
. Both genera bear very large "suckers" on the c-setae of the male first antennae, which appear to be morphologically similar (arising from a basal cup-like process). These two genera are only known from easternAustralia.
Lowrya
differs from
Sheina
in the shapes of its carapace and furca, and in that it bears a welldeveloped coxal endite on its mandibles, the c-seta (lateral seta) of the terminal endopodial article of the mandible lacks a dorsal hirsute pad (see
Kornicker, 1986
).
Lowrya
also shares some characters with
Vargula
Skogsberg, 1920
, e.g., an upper lip with tusks without lobes, endopodite of second antenna with three articles (the second article with a seta). It can be noted that
Vargula subantarctica
Kornicker, 1975
, for example, also bears some halophores with spines, and males of
V. psydrax
Kornicker, 1994
, bear a first antenna with an almost cup-like process at the base of the c-seta, although the "sucker", which is not as well developed as in
Lowrya
,
does not arise from this process. However,
Vargula
is polyphyletic and requires reorganisation (
Cohen & Morin, 1990
).
Lowrya
bears only one a-seta on itsfourthlimb,acharactersharedwith V.magnaKornicker,
1984,
V. tsujii,
Kornicker & Baker, 1977
, and
Kornickeria
Cohen & Morin, 1993
, although
Lowrya
has a have very different carapace shape to these taxa. The sclerotization of the rostrum, forming lateral processes, in
Lowrya
is most similarto that of
Paracypridina
Poulsen, 1962
, and to some extent
Heterodesmus
Brady, 1866
, although
Lowrya
is separated from these genera by the possession of an endopodite of the second antenna with three articles.