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 kroppi
n. sp.
(
Figs 1
;
3A
)
TYPE MATERIAL
. —
Holotype
11.9 ×
9.7 mm
, from
Piti Reef
,
Guam
(
MNHN-B26474
),
paratype
9.5 ×
7.5 mm
, from
GUM300
(
MNHN-B26475
).
MATERIAL
EXAMINED. —
Guam
.
Piti Bay,
13°27’N
,
144°47’E
,
2 m
, outer reef flat west of Camel Rock, rubble partially consolidated by sponge,
11.
VI
.1986
, coll.
R
. Kropp, 1 8.6 ×
7.7 mm
(
GUM
245B). — Piti Reef,
2 m
, among rocks,
24.VII.1993
, 1 7.3 ×
6.2 mm
(
GUM
271). — Piti Reef,
0.5-2 m
, among rocks,
4-18.VIII.1993
, 1 (ovig.), 10.7 ×
9.4 mm
(
GUM
298). — Piti Reef,
1 m
, among rocks,
VIII.1993
, 3 7.0 × 6.0, 8.8 × 7.6, 11.9 × 9.7 (
holotype
) mm, 1 9.5 ×
7.5 mm
(
paratype
) (
GUM
300). — Piti Reef,
1 m
,
28.VII.1993
, 1 6.3 ×
5.5 mm
(
GUM
301). — Piti Reef,
1 m
, among rocks,
31.VII.1993
, coll. H.
T
. Conley, 1 9.0 ×
7.7 mm
(
GUM
307).
ETYMOLOGY. — Named after Roy K. Kropp for his contribution to the knowledge of the
Decapoda
, especially
Brachyura
, of
Guam
.
SIZE. — Maximum size for females, 10.7 ×
9.4 mm
and males, 11.9 ×
9.7 mm
. The ovigerous female carried around
150 eggs
, mean diameter =
0.47 mm
(n = 5).
DEPTH AND HABITAT. — All specimens came from coral rubble and rocks in shallow water,
1-
2 m
.
DISTRIBUTION. — Known only from
Guam
, North Pacific.
DESCRIPTION
Carapace wider than long, ratio cw/cl= 1.12- 1.26, shape sub-oval, frontal and posterior ends truncate, anterolateral margin gently rounded and posterolateral margins convergent. Posterior margin eroded at corners to accommodate last pair of pereopods and medially to accommodate first segment of abdomen. Carapace surface smooth, sparsely covered with short plumose setae, not bent at right angles, and scattered longer filiform setae (long setae five times length of short setae and 0.15 of cw). Setae denser on pereopods. Setae not arranged in clumps and not dense enough to obscure carapace surface.
Carapace surface smooth, frontal groove short, separating pair of low rounded swellings; carapace regions not defined, cervical grooves not marked in male
holotype
but evident in female
paratype
. Anterolateral carapace margin begins just below postorbital corner: bearing six teeth, first four small, blunt and near beginning, last two more distant, larger and more acute. Small blunt posterolateral tooth marks beginning of posterolateral margin.
Frontal margin continuous above orbits that are clearly exposed dorsally, no post-orbital notch; sub-orbital margin not projecting (just visible dorsally) and unarmed. Sub-hepatic area convex, minutely denticulated.
First article of antennule much longer than wide, becoming broader distally and fitting closely beside epistome; second article at almost right angles to first, fitting beneath frontal margin; remaining articles folded into orbital cavity. First article of antenna moveable, beaked medially enclosing urinal aperture; second article longer than wide, surface convex, produced distally at both corners, lateral lobe curves over base of eyestalk; third article longer than wide; fourth article as long as wide, attached at an angle and bearing flagella 0.65 × cw. Epistome triangular, surface flat, posterior margin eroded to accommodate edges of mxp3.
Subhepatic area convex and minutely granulated. The mxp3 operculiform, bases separated widely by sternum; palp (carpus, propodus, and dactyl) setose along medial margin, two-thirds length of ischium + merus; crista dentata has six very small teeth. Male sternal suture 4/5 complete, others incomplete; in female suture 4/5 faintly marked, complete, suture 7/8 carrying entrances to spermathecae, short, ending apart between bases of fourth pereopods.
Male chelipeds much longer than first pair of walking legs; merus trigonal, superior border armed with row of six small blunt tubercles, inferior border with several scattered tubercles; carpus unarmed except for blunt spur on inner superior border; propodus unarmed except for some very faint tubercles on superior border, fixed finger curved, edentate; moveable finger also curved, bearing single prominent tooth mid-way, fingers only touch at tips, widely gaping. Female chelipeds smaller, about as long as first walking legs; tooth on moveable finger absent.
FIG. 1. —
Dynomene kroppi
n. sp.
, Guam, Piti Reef, 1 m, holotype 11.9 × 9.7 mm;
A
, dorsal view of right half of carapace;
B
, outer face of right cheliped;
C
, dorsal view of right cheliped (MNHN-B26474). Setae omitted. Scale bars: 2 mm.
P2-p4 decreasing in length posteriorly; meri with row of five or six tiny tubercles along upper bor- der; carpi more densely covered with tubercles; propodi with few scattered tubercles; dactyli curved, inner margins armed with five to six tiny spines increasing in size distally. Length of p3 merus 2.3 × width and about three-quarters of cl. P5 reduced, more so in male: in males length is 26% of preceding limb (female 34%) reaching only 30% along merus of p4 (female 50%). Limb sub-chelate: in males dactylus tiny, claw-like and opposed to propodal extension; in females dactylus longer, flattened; fine structure of dactyl and propodal extension unavailable.
Surface of abdomen smooth, segments increasing in width posteriorly except in female where last segment narrower because uropods totally exclude penultimate abdominal segment from lateral margin (in males uropods make up 30% of lateral margin). Female abdomen totally covers sternum and bases of pereopods, extending anteriorly so that telson covers bases of mxp3. No abdominal locking mechanism and sternal tubercles absent in
paratype
female. Male abdomen smaller, covering most of sternum, but not bases of pereopods. Male has small sternal tubercles at bases of p2, lying beside uropods when abdomen closed, but no abdominal locking mechanism.
Five pairs of pleopods in both sexes. First pair of female pleopods uniramous, other four pairs biramous. Male first pleopods uniramous, forming semi-rolled tube, with apical sperm aperture beside curved apical lobe, surrounded by setae. Second pleopods, as long as first pair, biramous, exopod rudimentary, gonopod (i.e. endopod) consisting of calcified proximal half and horny, needle-like distal half. Shaft of needle armed with four distal, evenly spaced, inset acute subterminal spines, directed distally, spiraling around shaft over 90°, and ending with single terminal spine. Last three pairs of pleopods rudimentary, uniramous, decreasing in length posteriorly.
DISCUSSION
D. kroppi
n. sp.
can be distinguished from
D. pugnatrix
by having six anterolateral teeth
(
vs
five in
D. pugnatrix
); the anterolateral teeth smaller and blunter; p2-p4 with small blunt tubercles on the superior borders (
vs
acute tubercles); long setae on carapace which are filiform (
vs
feathered setae); only five or six spines on inner margins of dactyli of walking legs (
vs
10 spines).
Surface evidence of sternal sutures in male and female
D. kroppi
n. sp.
are typical of those found in other species of
Dynomene
: only suture 4/5 is evident, but incomplete, in both sexes and sutures 7/8, which end apart, are marked in females. Only suture 3/4 is deeply incised and complete. A similar situation is found in
Acanthodromia
A. Milne-Edwards, 1880
,
Hirsutodynomene
McLay, 1999
,
Metadynomene
McLay, 1999
and
Paradynomene
Sakai, 1963
. In
Metadynomene
, suture 5/6 is not incised on the surface but is marked by an uncalcified, translucent band across the sternum. The sternal sutures in dynomenids represent a derived condition in that most are not evident on the surface.
In
D. kroppi
n. sp.
, the uropods are sexually dimorphic, with the female uropods filling all of the abdominal lateral margin and male uropods only about 30%. This is similar to
D. hispida
and
D. praedator
but less than
D. pugnatrix
where male uropods fill about 75% of the lateral margin. In all species of
Dynomene
and
Hirsutodynomene
the uropods are sexually dimorphic with female uropods always being larger. Dynomenids are also unusual in having sexually dimorphic fifth pereopods (see
McLay 1999: 449-454
, figs 8-10).
D. kroppi
n. sp.
probably falls into the group of dynomenids that do not grow larger than about
20 mm
cw. These species have a brood size ranging from 30 to
900 eggs
with a mean diameter of
0.46 mm
(
McLay 1999: 550
). The
D. kroppi
n. sp.
ovigerous female carried around
150 eggs
, of diameter
0.47 mm
, and clearly conforms with this group of small species, which undoubtedly have a planktonic larval stage.
The structure of the second male gonopod of
D. kroppi
n. sp.
most closely resembles that of
D. guamensis
n. sp.
and only differs in having a greater number of sub-terminal spines. Unfortunately we do not have the microscopic details of the second gonopod
of
D. pugnatrix
which has a similar gross morphology. Otherwise, the closest dynomenids are
D. hispida
and
D. praedator
,
both of which have five sub-terminal spines, arranged sinuously around the shaft (see
McLay 1999: 456-461
). However,
D. hispida
and
D. praedator
have two and three terminal spines respectively, while
D. kroppi
n. sp.
has only one. Amongst dynomenids, the species of
Dynomene
tend to have a smaller number of gonopod spines (4 to 15) than is found in other genera (
McLay 1999
: table 1).