Fluviadulzura spinicauda Myers, Lowry & Billingham, 2017, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Myers, Alan A.
name: Lowry, James K.
name: Billingham, Zac
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Amphipoda
Hadziidae
Fluviadulzura
Fluviadulzura spinicauda

description: Fluviadulzura spinicauda gen. nov. sp. nov.
(Figs 1–4)
Type material. HOLOTYPE male, 5.3 mm., Victoria, Woodford, Merri River at Bridge Road, 38.317388°, 142.482296°), 25/10/2015 (NHMUK 2016. 70).
Paratypes, 1 male, 2 females, same data as holotype (NHMUK 2016. 71- 73).
Other material. 4 males, 4 females, Victoria, Woodford, Merri River at Bridge Road, 38.317388°, 142.482296°, 29/04/2016 NHMUK 2016. 74 – 81).
Type locality. Victoria, Woodford, Merri River at Bridge Road, 38.317388°, 142.482296°.
Etymology. Referring to the spine on the dorsum of the first urosome segment.
Description. Based on male holotype, 5.3 mm.
Head. Eyes moderately large, round; anteroventral corner rounded. Antenna 1 longer than antenna 2; peduncular article 1 shorter than article 2, with 2 robust setae on posterior margin; peduncular article 2 much longer than article 3; articles 1–3 with dense long setae; flagellum longer than peduncle with 22 articles; accessory flagellum well developed, with 4 articles. Antenna 2 moderately setose; peduncular article 2 cone gland reaching to end of peduncular article 3; peduncular article 4 slightly shorter than article 5; flagellum with 8 articles. Mandible molar medium size, triturating, accessory setal row present, 3 well developed serrate setae; palp very weak, 3- articulate; article 1 shorter than article 2; article 2 a little shorter than article 3; article 3 rod-shaped, lacking marginal setae but with two distal setae. Maxilla 1 inner plate subsquare, with 5 long, stout distal setae. Maxilla 2 inner plate without oblique setal row. Labium inner lobes absent. Maxilliped palp article 3, with distal patch of small dense setae; article 4 + dactylus forming stout claw.
Pereon. Gills huge, stalked. Gnathopod 1 subchelate; coxa anteroventral corner not produced, anterior margin straight, not produced; basis stout, broadest medially; carpus nearly 4 x as long as broad, much longer than propodus, heavily setose laterally; propodus palm weakly defined; dactylus well developed, reaching along half length of propodus posterior margin. Gnathopod 2 subchelate, enlarged; coxa posteroventral corner notch absent; merus acutely produced distoventrally; carpus short, not lobate, not enclosed by merus and propodus; propodus subovoid, nearly 3 x length of carpus, palm evenly rounded; dactylus closing along inner face of propodus. Pereopod 3–4 coxa subequal in length to coxa 2; dactylus short, substraight. Pereopod 4 coxa posteroventral lobe absent, posterior margin weakly concave. Pereopod 5 basis expanded, posterior margin weakly convex, posteroventral corner produced, subquadrate; carpus and propodus with few slender setae along anterior margin. Pereopod 6 basis posterior margin substraight, castelloserrate, posterodistal corner produced into a blunt spine; carpus and propodus with few moderate length, slender setae along anterior margin. Pereopod 7 coxa posterior lobe with two spines; basis posterior margin convex, minutely castelloserrate, scarcely produced posterodistally.
Pleon. Urosomite 1 with dorsal spine. Epimera 1–2 posteroventral margin with spine above posteroventral corner. Epimeron 3 ventral margin smooth, posteroventral corner with small acute spine. Uropod 1 peduncle with basofacial robust seta, without distoventral spine; rami subequal. Uropod 2 peduncle a little shorter than rami; rami slender, subequal. Uropod 3 inner ramus very short, blunt, with one subdistal seta about 0.1× outer ramus; outer ramus very long, much longer than peduncle, 2-articulate; article 2 spine-like. Telson cleft, about as broad as long, each lobe tapering distally, apical margins straight to weakly concave, with 3 apical and 2 subapical robust setae.
Female (sexually dimorphic characters). Based on female, 5.5 mm, Gnathopod 2 carpus subtriangular, 0.6 × length of propodus; propodus parallel-sided, palm oblique, delimited from posterior margin; dactylus fitting palm.
Habitat. Fluviadulzura spinicauda gen. nov. sp. nov. is known only from the type locality on the Merri river in south-western Victoria. This section of the Merri river is a lowland freshwater stream with large deep pools and small shallow riffles, abundant aquatic vegetation and predominantly gravel and pebble substrates.
Remarks. See remarks under genus.
description: Published as part of Myers, Alan A., Lowry, James K. & Billingham, Zac, 2017, A new genus and species of freshwater Hadziidae, Fluviadulzura spinicauda gen. nov., sp. nov. from rivers in Victoria, Australia (Amphipoda), pp. 131-136 in Zootaxa 4232 (1) on pages 133-135, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/292724