Dynomenidae and Dromiidae (Decapoda, Brachyura) from Guam, Philippine Islands, Tonga and Samoa
Author
Mclay, Colin L.
Zoology Department, Canterbury University, Christchurch, PB 4800 (New Zealand) c. mclay @ zool. canterbury. ac. nz.
text
Zoosystema
2001
23
4
807
856
journal article
6377
10.5281/zenodo.4689208
72669070-3bd6-41be-bd47-f386c83d0927
1638-9387
4689208
Dynomene praedator
A. Milne-E>dwards, 1879
Dynomene praedator
A. Milne-Edwards, 1879: 8
, pl. 14, figs 20-26. —
McLay 1999: 481
, figs 3b, 8a-b, 11, 12 d, 14 b, 17 b, 19 a-g.
MATERIAL
EXAMINED. —
Guam
.
Piti Reef,
13°27’N
,
144°47’E
, among rocks,
1.5 m
,
22.VII.1993
, 2
8.5 × 6.5 (
GUM
268). — Among rocks,
1.5 m
,
22.VII.1993
, 1 13.0 ×
10.3 mm
(
GUM
270). — Among rocks,
1 m
,
1.VIII.1993
, coll. H.
T
. Conley, 1 7.8 × 7.0 mm (
GUM
300). — Outer reef margin,
1 m
under rubble pile,
1-4 m
,
IV.1998
, 1 9.5 ×
7.5 mm
, coll. S. Norby, 1 (ovig.) 9.7 ×
7.1 mm
(
UGI
no registration number,
ZRC
2000.0743).
SIZE
. — Maximum size for males is 13.5 ×
10.7 mm
, and for females 12.0 ×
9.6 mm
. All specimens from
Guam
are smaller than these sizes. The above oviger- ous female, with about
160 eggs
ready to hatch, was captured during April and so conforms to the reproductive period recorded elsewhere of from January to June.
DEPTH AND HABITAT. — Depth range intertidal to approximately
50 m
among coral. All the
Guam
specimens came from shallow water,
1-
4 m
.
DISTRIBUTION. —
D. praedator
is a widespread Indo- West Pacific species which has already been recorded from the
Mariana Islands
(see
McLay 1999
).
DISCUSSION
Dynomene praedator
has been recently redescribed and illustrated by
McLay (1999)
where a full synonymy can also be found.
D. praedator
, along with
D. hispida
, are the two most common shallow water dynomenids throughout the Indo- West Pacific, so it is surprising that
D. hispida
has not yet been found in
Guam
.
D. hispida
has been collected from the
northern Mariana Islands
of Maug East and Maug North (
Takeda
et al.
1994
) so it is likely to be present in
Guam
. If it is found, it will mean that
Guam
will have the richest shallow water dynomenid fauna (four species) in the world.
While all the specimens came from among rocks, one specimen was excavated from
1 m
below the rubble surface. This is a much neglected habitat, where we do not usually expect to find crabs.