Annotated and updated checklist of marine crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) of Mozambique supported by morphological and molecular data from shelf and slope species of the “ MOZAMBIQUE ” surveys
Author
Muñoz, Isabel
0000-0003-1055-0754
eli.munoz@ieo.es
Author
García-Isarch, Eva
0000-0003-3027-382X
eva.garcia@ieo.es
Author
Cuesta, Jose A.
0000-0001-9482-2336
jose.cuesta@icman.csic.es
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-10-19
5056
1
1
67
journal article
3930
10.11646/zootaxa.5056.1.1
6e7f4e75-9f6c-43d8-bd88-4ceb637afe60
1175-5326
5577887
D20A249C-1CA4-45F8-8677-D2011A8380A4
Mursia flamma
Galil, 1993
(
Figure 7G
)
Material examined.
M07, Stn.
10, 382m
,
♂
63.3×
46.8mm
(
CW
without lateral spine) (IEO-CD-MZ07/1904)
.
Habitat and distribution.
Mursia flamma
is distributed in the southwest of the
WIO
, between
Kwazulu-Natal
in
South Africa
,
Mozambique
and
Madagascar
(
Emmerson 2016b
,c;
Galil 1993
;
Spiridonov & Apel 2007
), between 210 and
520m
depth (
Emmerson 2016b
,c).
FIGURE 7.
Mursia flamma
,
♂ IEO-CD-MZ07/1904: photography of merus of right cheliped showing four spines (red arrow indicates the position of the fourth spine). Scale bar: 1cm.
Results and remarks.
One single male specimen was collected at
382m
depth. For identification, the keys provided by Galil (2003) and
Spiridonov & Apel (2007)
were used.
This specimen does not completely conform to the original description of
M. flamma
.
In addition, there are certain characters that do not match the posterior redescription made by Galil (2003). The median tooth of the rostrum of our specimen is not triangular, as described by Galil (2003), but rounded, as described in the review of
M. flamma
made by
Spiridonov & Apel (2007)
. Galil (2003) reported three spines on the merus of the chelipeds, but our specimen has four, one of them being minute. While
Spiridonov & Apel (2007)
described three spines, a minute fourth spine can be appreciated in the merus of the cheliped in some pictures of
M. flamma
of the MHNH, this suggesting that the number of spines on the merus of the cheliped could be three or four, the fourth being a tiny one (see
Figure 7
). Thus, the number of spines of the cheliped might not be a distinctive character for
M. flamma
.
Colouration observed.
Our specimen was quite strong reddish-brown, with slightly lighter tubercles, the larger ones with whitish tips, as well as the spines on the posterior margin of the carapace. Chelipeds have the same colour as the carapace, and pereiopods were lighter reddish tone with the proximal part of the merus and the dactyli whitish.
DNA barcodes.
The specimen was preserved in formalin and therefore, it was not possible to get DNA sequences.