New records of crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) from the New Zealand region, including a new species of Rochinia A. Milne-Edwards, 1875 (Majidae), and a revision of the genus Dromia Weber, 1795 (Dromiidae)
Author
Published, First
text
Zootaxa
2009
2009-05-18
2111
1
66
journal article
11755334
Metadynomene tanensis
(
Yokoya, 1933
)
(
Fig. 2a, b
)
Dynomene tanensis
Yokoya, 1933: 96
, fig. 38.
Dynomene praedator
— Sakai 1976: 30, fig. 17. –
Naga
& Tsuchida 1995: 108, pl. 1, fig. 2. Not
Dynomene praedator
A.
Milne-Edwards, 1879
.
Metadynomene tanensis
—
McLay 1999: 521
, figs 4d, 6c, 7f, 9d, e, 11, 13c, e, f, 14e, 25b, 27, 28. — McLay
et al.
2001: 964. — Ng
et al.
2001: 6. —
Guinot & Quenette 2005: 284
, fig. 4A, B. —
McLay & Ng 2005: 24
.
Material Examined
.
East
Cape
:
1 ovigerous female,
19.2 mm
x 18.0 mm,
37°30’S
,
179°00E
,
307–340 m
,
Taranui
, F
867,
TAM
,
2 Oct. 1968
. (
NIWA 48580
)
Remarks
. The discovery of
M. tanensis
is the first record of the
Dynomenidae
in
New Zealand
.
Dynomene pilumnoides
is also being reported from
New Zealand
for the first time (see below). The systematics of this family has been reviewed by
McLay (1999)
. The specimen was discovered in the NIWA collection, where it had been in storage for more than 30 years. The
type
species of
Metadynomene
McLay, 1999
is
Dynomene tanensis
Yokoya, 1933
, collected off the eastern coast of
Japan
. The geographical distribution of this species includes
Taiwan
,
Indonesia
,
New Caledonia
, Loyalty Is, Chesterfield Is and
Vanuatu
, to which we can now add
New Zealand
. A large male specimen reported as “
M. tanensis
”
by
McLay (1999: 522)
from the Tuamotu Archipelago,
French Polynesia
, probably belongs to an undescribed species. There are two other species:
M. crosnieri
McLay, 1999
, from the Glorieuse Is, Indian Ocean and
M. devaneyi
(
Takeda, 1977
)
from the Hawaiian Is and the
Marquesas
Is,
French Polynesia
. Species of this genus inhabit for the most part water between 200 and
500 m
and some are associated with precious corals (
Corallium
sp.
). They seem to live on rocky bottoms. Coarse sand, broken shell, rocks,
Glycymeris
,
Venericardia
,
Pecten
(Bivalvia)
,
Munida
(Anomura)
, pagurids, electric ray, octopus and ophiuroids were also collected along with the
New Zealand
specimen of
M. tanensis
.
There is a superficial resemblance between this species and
Metadromia wilsoni
nov. comb.
because both species have a dense, short, uneven tomentum covering the carapace, but they are easily distinguished because
M. tanensis
only has the last pair of legs (P5) reduced, whereas
M. wilsoni
has the last two pairs (P4 and P5) reduced, although not as much as for
M. tanensis
P5.
Distribution
Metadynomene tanensis
is known from
Taiwan
,
Indonesia
,
New Caledonia
, Loyalty Is, Chesterfield Is and
Vanuatu
, and now from East Cape,
New Zealand
. Depth range is
205–
520m
.