Torquella iberica Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, Bamber & Cunha, 2011, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, Magdalena
name: Bamber, Roger N
name: Cunha, Marina R
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Tanaidacea
Typhlotanaidae
Torquella
Torquella iberica

description: Torquella iberica sp. nov.
Figs 17–19
Material. 1Ƥ, Holotype (BMNH.2010.415), 1 female, dissected, Station Mek 581, Meknès mud-volcano, 34º59.178’N 07º04.353’W, 700 m depth, mud breccia, TV-grab, 28.07.2005, coll. MRC.
Description. Body (Fig. 17 A, B) attenuate, relatively large, holotype 4.7 mm long, 9.5 times as long as wide. Cephalothorax trapezoidal, as long as wide, just longer than pereonite 2, naked, rostrum evident, eyes absent. All pereonites trapezoidal, pereonite 1 with slightly concave anterior margin, pereonites 1 to 3 wider anteriorly, pereonites 4 to 6 wider posteriorly; pereonites 1 and 4 subequal, 0.8 times as long as cephalothorax, pereonites 2 and 5 subequal, as long as cephalothorax, pereonite 3 longest, 1.1 times as long as pereonite 2, pereonite 6 shortest, 0.75 times as long as pereonite 4 (all pereonites respectively 1.3, 0.8, 0.7, 1.0, 0.8 and 1.4 times as wide as long). Pleon 18% of whole body length; each pleonite 4 times as wide as long, naked, and bearing pleopods. Pleotelson semicircular, nearly twice as wide as long, narrower than pleonite 5.
Antennule (Fig. 18 A) just longer than cephalothorax, proximal article 2.5 times as long as wide, 1.5 times as long as distal two articles together, with mid-inner tufts of penicillate and one simple setae, one inner distal and one dorsal subdistal simple setae; second article as long as wide, less than half as long as third article, with two distal setae; third article tapering, with five distal setae and pointed distal apophysis.
Antenna (Fig. 18 B) of six articles, proximal article compact; second article 1.5 times as long as wide, with dorsodistal seta; third article as long as wide, with dorsodistal seta; fourth article longest, six times as long as wide, distally with two longer and one shorter simple setae and two penicillate setae; fifth article one-third as long as fourth with one simple distal seta; sixth article minute with four distal setae.
Labrum (Fig. 18 C) rounded, hood-shaped, marginally setose. Left mandible (Fig. 18 D) with obliquely-crenulate pars incisiva and lacinia mobilis, right mandible (Fig. 18 E) with obliquely-crenulate, vertically oriented pars incisiva and without lacinia mobilis; pars molaris of both mandibles with sharp tooth-like marginal protrusions. Labium (Fig. 18 H) simple, distally excavate and finely setose. Maxillule (Fig. 18 F) with nine distal spines, outer margin with tufts of paired setules, palp not recovered. Maxilla (Fig. 18 G) subrectangular, naked. Maxilliped (Fig. 18 I) first palp article naked, second article with one outer and three inner distal setae, third article with three finely setulose and one simple inner setae, fourth article with four finely setulose inner-distal setae, one submarginal simple inner seta and one dorsal subdistal simple seta; basis with single seta 0.75 times length of endites; endites distally with single seta and small oval membranous structure, with rows of fine setules and microtrichia subdistally and on outer corners, inner margin with subdistal seta. Epignath (Fig. 18 J) elongate, linguiform, distally pointed.
Cheliped (Fig. 19 A) with rounded basis, 1.6 times as long as wide, with single dorsal seta; merus subtriangular with single ventral submarginal seta; carpus 1.7 times as long as wide, with two ventroproximal setae and small proximal and distal setae on dorsal margin; propodus 1.4 times as long as wide, fixed finger with two ventral setae, three setae on cutting edge, cutting edge with distal crenulations; dactylus with two small spinules on cutting edge.
Pereopod 1 (Fig. 19 B) longer than others, coxa without apophysis, with seta; basis slender, 5.6 times as long as wide, with sparse dorsal and ventral marginal setae; ischium compact, with one ventral seta; merus just longer than carpus, with single dorsodistal seta; carpus with four longer and three shorter distal setae; propodus 1.3 times as long as carpus, with three dorsal subdistal setae and one ventrodistal seta; dactylus with proximal seta extending to one-third length of unguis, slender unguis twice as long as dactylus, both together 0.7 times as long as propodus. Pereopod 2 (Fig. 19 C) similar to pereopod 1, but subequal merus and carpus relatively more compact and with ventral microtrichia, merus with two ventrodistal setae; propodus 1.6 times as long as carpus, with one dorsodistal seta; short dactylus with longer unguis together 0.4 times as long as propodus. Pereopod 3 (Fig. 19 D) similar to pereopod 2, but basis more compact and naked, propodus as long as merus and carpus together.
Pereopod 4 (Fig. 19 E) basis stout, 2.2 times as long as wide with subdistal ventral and dorsal fine setae; ischium with two ventral setae; merus just longer than carpus, ventrally with fields of microtrichia and two short ventrodistal spines; carpus ventrally with prickly tubercle surrounded by fine spinules and two short ventrodistal spines, and one small inner-distal seta; propodus slender, 1.5 times as long as carpus, with sparse ventral microtrichia, two ventrodistal spines, dorsoproximal penicillate seta and one dorsodistal seta twice as long as dactylus; dactylus with ventrolateral microtrichia, separate short unguis, both together 0.4 times as long as propodus. Pereopod 5 (Fig. 19 F) as pereopod 4, but basis with penicillate seta. Pereopod 6 (Fig. 19 G) as pereopod 4, but basis with penicillate seta, propodus stouter and with three dorsodistal spines.
Pleopods (Fig. 19 H) all alike, basis naked, endopod shorter than exopod with one subdistal inner plumose seta and 19 outer plumose setae, proximal seta not separated from remainder; exopod without inner seta but with 35 outer plumose setae, proximal seta separated from remainder.
Uropod (Fig. 19 I) biramous, setose as figured; both exopod and endopod of one segment, exopod three-quarters as long as endopod.
Male unknown.
Etymology. iberica – is after Iberian Peninsula, in the vicinity of the type-locality.
Remarks. Using the typhlotanaid key of Błażewicz-Paszkowycz (2007), the present species keys out to Torquella Błażewicz-Paszkowycz 2007, owing to its having a uropod exopod shorter than the endopod, and prickly tubercles on pereopods 4 to 6 surrounded by fine spines, inter alia, but unusually has no small ventrodistal spine on the carpus of pereopods 2 and 3. Variation in pereopod setation is found in other Torquella species, for example T. elegans (Kudinova-Pasternak, 1978) and T. angularis (Kudinova-Pasternak, 1966).
Typhlotanais iberica sp. nov. shares a 1-segmented uropod endopod with T. magdalensis (Larsen & Shimomura, 2007), which also has unusual setation, with a long distal seta on the propodus of pereopods 4 and 5 and a number of marginal setae on the bases of pereopods 1 and 2 (other species have no more than 3). Another unusual character of T. iberica is shape of incisor on the mandible (see Fig. 18 E), which is almost vertical in orientation (similar to that figured by Kudinova-Pasternak, 1975, for her T. parangularis). At present, these features are considered to be intrageneric variation within Torquella.
description: Published as part of Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, Magdalena, Bamber, Roger N & Cunha, Marina R, 2011, New tanaidomorph Tanaidacea (Crustacea: Peracarida) from submarine mud-volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz (North-east Atlantic), pp. 1-53 in Zootaxa 2769 on pages 29-33, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.204823