Tepidopleustes acromatius Just 2009, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Just, Jean
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Pleustidae
Tepidopleustes
Tepidopleustes acromatius

description: <i>Tepidopleustes acromatius</i> sp. nov. (Figs 1, 2) <b>Type material.</b> Holotype, male, 3.9 mm (tip of rostrum to insertion of telson), AM P71533, Yonge Reef, Half Mile Opening (14°34'19"S 145°36'51"E), <i>Halimeda opuntia</i> (green coralline algae), 10 m, I. Takeuchi, R. T. Springthorpe &amp; O. Coleman, 5 March 2005 (QLD 1823). Paratypes: 2 unsexed (poor), AM P71494 (QLD 1819); 1 ovigerous female, 3 fully developed females, 2 males, 6 juveniles, AM P77856 (QLD 1823); 2 juveniles (poor), AM P71559 (QLD 1823); 1 male, 1 juvenile, AM P71478 (QLD 1823). <b>Type Locality.</b> Half Mile Opening, Yonge Reef, Queensland, Australia (14°34'19"S 145°36'51"E). <b>Etymology.</b> The epithet is composed of the Greek ακρο (akro) meaning extreme and µάτƖ (mati) meaning eye, in allusion to the very large eyes of this species. <b>Description.</b> Based on holotype, male, 3.9 mm, AM P71533 and paratype, male, AM P77856. <b>Head.</b> <i>Rostrum</i> about 0.3 x length of antenna 1 peduncle article 1; lateral head lobe bluntly pointed, right angled to slightly acute; eyes large, inflated, occupying nearly entire lateral face of head. <i>Antenna 1</i> with tiny accessory flagellum of single article with single simple seta apically; peduncle articles 1 and 2 with several robust setae distally; flagellum article 1 elongate, about as long as succeeding 3 articles combined. <i>Antenna 2</i> peduncle articles 3–5 with several robust setae distally; flagellum proximal articles shorter than wide, gradually decreasing in width and increasing in length to approximately 4 times width. <i>Labrum</i> asymmetrical, with deep notch. <i>Mandible</i> lacinia mobilis present on both sides; molar low, rounded, non-triturative; accessory setal row reduced, with 3 short setae; palp article 3 with ventral row of plumose setae in distal third, 2 strong, serrate apical setae and 2 adjoining slender setae. <i>Maxilliped</i> palp article 3 apex rounded, without terminal dactylus. <b>Pereon.</b> <i>Pereonite</i> 6 with small, flat dorsoposterior projection; pereonite 7 with dorsal carina and larger posterior projection. <i>Coxae</i> 1–4 each shorter than corresponding pereonite, gradually increasing in length from 1 to 4; coxa 4 with weakly serrate ventral margin. <i>Gnathopod 1</i> slender, slightly larger than 2; propodus simple, 0.8 length of carpus; merus, carpus and propodus with long, finely dentate setae along posterior margin. <i>Gnathopod 2</i> slender, similar to 1 in shape and setation, propodus simple. <i>Pereopods 5–7</i> successively longer; basis posterodistally broadly rounded, posterior margin finely serrate. <b>Pleon.</b> <i>Pleonites 1 and 2</i> each with dorsal carina and dorsoposterior projection, strong lateral apodemic ridge with rounded posterior projection; epimeron 2 with acutely pointed posteroventral corner. <i>Pleonite 3</i> with low dorsal carina, weak apodemic ridge, posterior margin of epimeron rounded, multiserrate. <i>Uropod 1</i> outer ramus 0.6 x length of inner ramus. <i>Uropod 2</i> outer ramus slightly more than 0.5 x length of inner ramus. <i>Uropod 3</i> outer ramus approximately 0.7 x length of inner ramus. <i>Telson</i> entire, apex broadly rounded, ventrally thickened midlength but not distinctly keel-shaped, with 2 robust setae in midline. <b>Habitat.</b> Among <i>Halimeda opuntia</i> algae, 10 m. <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Tepidopleustes acromatius</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> is clearly distinguished from the only two Australian congeners, <i>T. coffsiana</i> and <i>T. juliana</i>, on account of its serrate third epimeron and its broadly rounded entire telson. <i>Tepidopleustes acromatius</i> differs from <i>T. barnardi</i> and <i>T. honomu</i>, the two species with serrate epimeron 3, by the enormous, bulbous eyes that cover almost the entire lateral surfaces of the head. The outer ramus of uropod 3 of <i>T. acromatius</i> is 2/3 the length of inner ramus, as in <i>T. honomu</i>, but 9/ 10 in <i>T. barnardi</i>. The lateral cephalic lobe in <i>T. acromatius</i> is acute, as in <i>T. barnardi</i>, but rounded quadrate in <i>T. honomu. Tepidopleustes barnardi</i> has the propodus of gnathopods 1 and 2 subchelate; in <i>T. acromatius</i> and the other three species the propodus is simple. <b>Distribution</b>. <i>Australia</i>. Queensland: Yonge Reef, Great Barrier Reef.
description: Published as part of <i>Just, Jean, 2009, Pleustidae *, pp. 836-840 in Zootaxa 2260 (1)</i> on pages 837-838, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2260.1.46, http://zenodo.org/record/5307959