Sea spiders (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: new species, new records and ecological annotations
Author
Arango, Claudia P.
text
Journal of Natural History
2003
2003-11-30
37
22
2723
2772
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222930210158771
journal article
10.1080/00222930210158771
1464-5262
Seguapallene
cf.
micronesica
Child, 1983
Seguapallene micronesica
Child, 1983: 709–711
, figure 4; 1991: 145.
Material examined.
Chilcott Island,
1 m
, in
Halimeda
sp.
,
Amphiroa
sp.
and rubble washings,
10–15 m
,
14 September 1998
, one
X
; Willis Reef,
15–16 m
,
two juveniles
(coll. Diaz-Pulido).
Description.
The material collected was not in good condition and it only allowed comparison with the Indo-west Pacific species
Seguapallene micronesica
. The specimens all have separated crurigers and a short main propodal claw, and the triangle-shaped teeth of the chelae, different from the sister species described from Lizard Island,
S. crassa
Child (1990: 321)
. The
two juveniles
show the same characteristics as the female.
Distribution.
Seguapallene micronesica
was described from the intertidal at
Palau
Islands, followed by a record from
Guam
(Child, 1991) that expanded its Pacific distribution to the north-east. This record suggests a wider distribution confined to littoral habitats of the tropical Pacific.
Remarks.
This is a rare genus of six recognized species, one known from the sub-Antarctic, the others collected in Indo-Pacific localities (Child, 1991). The species is characterized by a long denticulate terminal claw and large and robust chelifores.