Bemlos gladius Myers, 2009, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Myers, Alan A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Aoridae
Bemlos
Bemlos gladius

description: <i>Bemlos gladius</i> sp. nov. (Figs 17, 18) <b>Type material.</b> Holotype, male, 3.2 mm, AM P71519, Yonge Reef, Half Mile Opening (14 o 34’19”S, 145 o 36’51”E), in green alga <i>Halimeda opuntia</i>, by hand on SCUBA, 9 m, O. Coleman, 5 March 2005 (QLD 1827). Paratypes: 1 male, 3 females, same data as holotype, AM P71568 (QLD 1829). <b>Type locality.</b> Yonge reef, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia (14 o 34'19''S, 145 o 36'51''E). <b>Etymology.</b> From the latin ‘gladius’ = sword, referring to the long spine on the carpus of the male gnathopod 1. <b>Description.</b> Based on holotype, male, 3.2 mm, AM P71519. <b>Head.</b> <i>Head</i> lateral cephalic lobes apically truncate. <i>Antenna 1</i> flagellum unknown. Antenna 2 with few long setae. <i>Lower lip</i> with fine setae and stout setae. <i>Maxilla 1</i> inner plate with 1 long pectinate apical seta. <i>Mandible</i>, palp article 3 longer than 2, posterior margin straight, posterior margin with setae of two distinct lengths, long setae and an under-story of much shorter regularly spaced setae. <b>Pereon.</b> <i>Pereonites 2–3</i> with sternal spines, apically acute on segment 2, rounded on segment 3. <i>Gnathopod 1</i> coxa weakly produced anterodistally, rounded; basis robust, less than twice as long as broad, posterodistal margin with brush of dense long setae; ischium anterior margin without flange, posterior margin with a few long setae; merus not greatly elongated, fused along its entire length with carpus, posterior margin with few setae, without spine; carpus one half length of propodus, with few setae, anterior margin with no spine; without an oblique row of long setae on inner face, posterodistal margin with long, slender spine; propodus anterior margin weakly setiferous, posterior margin sinuous, palm present, delimited from posterior margin, forming a v-shaped sinus, with strong posterodistal spine, without spine near base of dactylus; dactylus more than half length of propodus, overlapping palm. <i>Gnathopod 2</i> subchelate; basis anterior margin straight but with weak distal concavity, anterodistal margin with weak flange, posterodistal margin with a dense brush of long setae; carpus longer than propodus, with dense long setae; propodus with dense long setae, palm with robust defining seta. <i>Pereopod 3</i> basis unexpanded, without brush of long setae on merus. <i>Pereopod 6</i> basis weakly produced posterodistally. <i>Pereopod 7</i> 150% length of pereopod 6. <b>Pleon.</b> <i>Epimeron 3</i> posterodistal margin with small notch bearing a seta. <i>Uropod 1</i> rami subequal, peduncle much longer than broad, distoventral spine one quarter length of peduncle. <i>Uropod 2</i> biramous; peduncle with distoventral spine almost half length of peduncle. <i>Uropod 3</i> biramous, inner ramus more than 2 x length of peduncle. <i>Telson</i> with distal fine setae only. <b>Female</b> (sexually dimorphic characters). Based on paratype female, 3.1 mm, AM P71568. Sternal spines absent. <i>Gnathopod 1</i> basis relatively slender, about 3 x as long as broad, without a brush of setae on the posterodistal margin; carpus a little shorter than propodus, lacking a posterodistal spine; propodus palm defined by a rounded corner and a stout robust seta; dactylus overlapping palm. <i>Gnathopod 2</i> basis slender, anterior margin fully straight, carpus and propodus subequal in length, both lacking dense long setae on the anterior margins. <b>Habitat.</b> Among <i>Halimeda opuntia</i> in shallow water. <b>Remarks.</b> This species is very close to <i>Bemlos longisetis</i> Ren, 2006, in having a long spine on the posterodistal margin of the male gnathopod 1 carpus. It differs from that species, however, in lacking additional short spines on the posterior margin of the carpus of that appendage (present in <i>B. longisetis</i>), and also in having a dense brush of long setae on the posterodistal margin of the basis of the male gnathopod 2 (lacking in <i>B. longisetis</i>). It also resembles <i>Bemlos delicatissima</i> Myers (2002) from Phuket, Thailand. It differs in having a dense brush of long setae on the posterodistal margin of the basis of the male gnathopod 1 which is absent in <i>B. delicatissima</i>. The male gnathopod 1 basis is also more robust in <i>B. gladius</i>, being less than twice as long as broad, whereas in <i>B. delicatissima</i> it is much more than twice as long as broad. It also resembles <i>B. pseudopunctatus</i> (Ledoyer, 1978) from the Mascarenes, but in that species, male gnathopod 2 has a small meral spine and lacks the brush of long setae on the basis. <i>Bemlos pseudopunctatus</i> also has acute sternal spines on segments 2–4. <b>Distribution.</b> <i>Australia</i>. Queensland: Lizard Island (current study).
description: Published as part of <i>Myers, Alan A., 2009, Aoridae *, pp. 220-278 in Zootaxa 2260 (1)</i> on pages 242-245, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2260.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/5321091
description: {"references": ["Ren, X. (2006) Crustacea Amphipoda Gammaridea (I). Fauna Sinica Invertebrata, 41, i - x, 1 - 588.", "Myers, A. A. (2002) Marine amphipods of the families Aoridae and Neomegamphopidae from Phuket, Thailand. Phuket Marine Biological Center Special Publication, 23 (1), 213 - 228.", "Ledoyer, M. (1978) Amphipodes gammariens (Crustacea) des biotopes cavitaires organogenes recifaux de l'ile Maurice (Ocean Indien). The Mauritius Institute Bulletin, 8 (3), 197 - 332."]}