The pycnogonid fauna (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) of the Tayrona National Park and adjoining areas on the Caribbean coast of Colombia 2319
Author
Müller, Hans-Georg
Author
Krapp, Franz
text
Zootaxa
2009
2009-12-22
2319
1
1
138
https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2319.1.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.2319.1.1
11755334
5317868
Ammothella marcusi
Hedgpeth, 1948
Figs. 12–13
Ammothella marcusi
Hedgpeth, 1948: 247
. Child 1982: 358, (literature).
Stock 1986: 400
. Müller 1990: 278.
Material
:
22
.—
4 males
, 2 fem. (gravid) (
SMF 1120
),
Halimeda
on reef top,
14. IV.1986
.
28
.—
1 male
(
SMF 1121
), under stones, ca.
0.5 m
,
4.IV.1986
.
39
.—
2 fem. (gravid) (
ZFMK
), from stones,
0–0.5 m
,
17.III.1986
.
3 legless adults (
ZMA 3352
), from stones, mesolittoral,
14.IV.1986
.
FIGURE 12.
Ammothella marcusi
Hedgpeth, 1948
: A male dorsal, B male lateral, C male cheliphore, D female oviger, E distal 5 articles of female oviger.
Description of male
: Trunk relatively compact, in outline almost circular, completely segmented. Cephalon antero-laterally with obtuse tubercle above base of palps. Ocular process relatively low, about 3 times as tall as broad, with pointed tip and darkly pigmented eyes. Crurigers 1–3 each with two pointed spinelike distal outgrowths on antero- and postero-lateral aspects, which almost touch their respective neighbours on adjoining cruriger; cruriger 4 with only one such outgrowth on antero- and postero-lateral aspects. Abdomen erect, 3 times as long as ocular process, with some clavate and simple setae of different lengths.
Proboscis oval, about 3 times as long as diameter.
Cheliphore scape two-articled, its distal article about 1,5 times length of its basal article, both articles tightly covered with clavate setae, mostly on lateral aspect; chela very short and stump-like. Palp 9-articled, 2
nd
and 4th articles longest; articles 2 and 3 with single feathered seta, articles 4 and 5 with several feathered setae; articles 6–9 with short simple setae, mainly on ventral surface. Oviger 10-articled; articles 2, 4 and 5 elongated and of near equal length; 7
th
article in its distal half with pair of robust spines; articles 8–10 bearing flat spines with serrated edges, largest on tiny terminal article. Legs relatively slender; coxae 1 of all legs with dorso-lateral pair of short, club-shaped setae; coxae 1 with about 2–4 dorso-distal clavate setae, and single simple lateral seta; coxae 1–3 of almost equal length; femur 5 times as long as broad, sparsely beset with clavate and simple setae; short (1/4 of femur diameter) dorso-distal cement gland duct; tibia 1, 1.2 times as long as femur, with ventral row of about 11 clavate setae; tibia 2 slightly shorter than tibia 1, covered by simple setae only. Propodus feebly curved and robust, no heel; basal half of sole armed with 4 robust, distal half with 5 smaller and more slender spines; main claw moderately curved, about half length of propodus; auxiliaries little shorter than main claws.
Measurements
: Trunk length 0.68; width 0.70 (across 2
nd
crurigers); length of abdomen 0.35; length of proboscis 0.50; length of cheliphores 0.52, leg 4: coxa 1, 0.26; coxa 2, 0.21; coxa 3, 0.23; femur 0.55; tibia 1, 0.77; tibia 2, 0.75; tarsus 0.09; propodus 0.33; main claw 0.14; auxiliary claw 0.11.
Female
: In habitus very close to male, but the lateral spiniform tubercle on the lateral processes more feeble. 2
nd
article of ovigers in females shortened, 7
th
article without the robust pair of spines, 3 flat serrated spines in their place.
Remarks
: The species seems most closely related to
Ammothella hedgpethi
Fage, 1953
from the eastern Atlantic (
Dakar
), which resembles it but is somewhat more robust and lacks the lateral spiniform tubercles on the lateral processes (see Fage 1953b: 376).
A. marcusi
has been sampled very scarcely, no sound data on preferred substrata or phenology are available.
Distribution
: Tropical western Atlantic. All previous records were summarised in
Müller (1990d: 278)
.