Trachysalambria palaestinensis Steinitz 1932
Creators: name: Chan, Tin-Yam
name: Cleva, Régis
name: Chu, Ka Hou
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Decapoda
Penaeidae
Trachysalambria
Trachysalambria palaestinensis

description: Trachysalambria palaestinensis (Steinitz, 1932)
(Figs. 8, 9, 19 E)
Metapenaeus palaestinensis Steinitz, 1932: 161, figs. 1–3 [Haifa Bay, Eastern Mediterranean Sea].
Trachypeneus (Trachysalambria) curvirostris palaestinensis.— Burkenroad, 1959: 87, figs. 14–16.
Trachypenaeus curvirostris.— Holthuis, 1980: 53 (in part). [not Stimpson, 1860]
Trachysalambria curvirostris.— Pèrez Farfante & Kensley, 1997: 149 (in part); De Grave & Fransen: 228 (in part). [not Stimpson, 1860]
Trachysalambria palaestinensis.— Sakaji & Hasyashi, 2003: 166, fig. 10; Galil et. al., 2002: 46, unnumbered photo.
Material examined. Israel. Haifa Bay: trawl, 15–20 m, 13.05.1997, 1 male cl 13.6 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7025), 2 males cl 12.7–13.3 mm (MNHN IU-2014-7023), 1 male cl 12.1 mm (MNHN IU-2013-14466); 13 m, 12.08.2001, 1 male cl 11.6 mm, 3 females cl 13.5–17.2 mm (MNHN IU-2014-7022), 1 female cl 17.4 mm (MNHN IU-2014- 7027), 1 female cl 19.6 mm (MNHN IU-2014-7026), 1 female cl 17.9 mm (MNHN IU-2014-7024).
Lebanon. Beirut: 0 7.1975, 1 male cl 14.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7034); 1978, 1 male cl 13.0 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7028).
Syria. Latakia fish market, 20.11.1987, 2 males cl 10.5 and 14.6 mm, 4 females cl 8.9–11.0 mm (NTOU M01971, ex NFU).
Malta. Mediterranean Marine Sorting Center, US SI. 2 program, stn 175, St. George’s Bay, 0 7.02. 1964, 4 males cl 10.4–12.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7035).
Egypt. Sinai Peninsula, between Bardawil and El’Arish, 24 m, 31.08.1970, 1 female cl 13.2 mm (USNM 152549).
Suez Canal. Cambridge Suez Canal Expedition, 1924, stn T 2, 1 female cl 12.5 mm, stn T 6, 1 male cl 6.7 mm (BMNH 1927.11.2.14/15). Great Bitter Lake, 03–05.1932, 2 males cl 14.5 mm and carapace damaged, 3 females cl 9.4–17.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7031). Timsah Lake, 03–05.1932, 1 female cl 15.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7032).
Suez Gulf. Mission R. Ph. Dollfus: Mersa Thlemel, 18.04.1928, 1 male cl 12.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7030); stn 25, 12.01.1929, 1 female cl 13.0 mm (MNHN IU-2014-7029). Suez Bay and south extremity of canal, no specific date, 1 male cl 10.5 mm (MNHN IU- 2014-7033).
Red Sea. “ Akademik ”: stn 6, 16°41.2’N, 42° 26.8E, 55.5 m, 0 1.03.2012, 1 female cl 13.4 mm (SMF); stn 9, 16°53.8’N, 42°23.3E, 32 m, 0 1.03.2012, 4 males cl 10.1–11.2 mm, 4 females cl 15.0- 18.5 mm (SMF); stn 3, 16°59.5’N, 42°20.9E, 27– 19 m, 29.06.2013, 1 male cl 8.9 mm (SMF); stn 14, 16°53.1’N, 42°22.3E, 60–65 m, 0 1.11.2014, 1 male cl 7.0 mm (SMF); stn 15, 16°53.9’N, 42°27.7E, 15–17 m, 0 1.11.2014,1 female cl 9.7 mm (SMF); stn 19, 16°45.4’N, 42°28.6E, 28–30 m, 0 5.11.2014, 2 males cl 6.4 and 11.3 mm, 5 females cl 9.2–11.7 mm (SMF).
Saudi Arabia. Persian Gulf, Dammam, Hasa District: 18.01.1971, 5 males cl 11.0– 12.5 mm, 3 females cl 12.5–13.5 mm (USNM 216595); 0 9.03.1971, 30 males cl 6.5–12.3 mm, 19 females cl 8.0– 16.2 mm (USNM 216597); 10.03.1971, 10 males cl 9.5–13.6 mm (USNM 216596). Tarut Bay, Hasa District, 13.08.1971, 2 females cl 6.3 and 8.5 mm (USNM 216599).
Kuwait. Khor Al Sabiya, Kuwait Bay, 29°22’N, 47°47’E, 18.3 m, 27.02.1982, 1 male cl 9.8 mm (USNM 195269). No specific data, 3 females cl 16.7–22.2 mm (NTOU M01972, ex NFU).
Persian Gulf. No specific locality, 17.07.1985, 1 female cl 16.2 mm (BMNH).
Gulf of Oman. No specific locality, 32.9–45.8 m, 1971, 1 female cl 16.3 mm (BMNH), 1 female cl 16.5 mm (BMNH).
Description. Entire body densely pubescent. Rostrum with 6–9 (usually 8, excluding epigastric tooth) teeth on dorsal border and occasionally unarmed near tip; slightly to distinctly curved upwards in females, with ventral border convex, tip not recurved downwards and with ventral margin more or less straight, tips of rostral teeth aligned in a concave configuration; in males rostrum straight to slightly curving upwards, ventral border straight or convex, tip not recurved downwards, tips of rostral teeth more or less aligned in a straight line; generally extending to tip of antennular peduncle (generally longer in females and large individuals); postrostral carina high and sharp, but terminating at posterior 2/3 of carapace. Pereiopods I to III with well-developed epipods. Pereiopod I generally bearing small ischial spine, which occasionally absent. Pereiopod IV in females with coxa not particularly expanded medially. Pereiopod V generally extending to about middle of scaphocerite (longer in small individuals). Abdomen with dorsal carinae distinct and highly elevated on somites II to VI; that on somite II short but highly laminate; somite III only with dorsal carina at posterior 2/3 of somite; ridges on somites IV and V posteriorly incised and not terminating in distinct spines. Telson with sharp dorsolateral carinae, bearing 3 or 4 (usually 4) pairs of movable lateral spines. Male petasma with lateral margins of stem distinctly converging distally; distolateral lobes with ventral margins more or less straight, tips of dorsal and ventral flaps coinciding, forming sharp angle. Female thelycum with anterior plate semi-triangular to somewhat shaped like an inverted heart in large individuals, surface generally flattened to distinctly expanded laterally (hence making lateral margins rounded) in large individuals; anterior margin of posterior plate distinctly concave and with median cleft.
Coloration. Body greyish brown, darker dorsally and paler laterally. Rostrum dark brown, somewhat whitish at distal 1/3. Eyes dark grey. Antennular and antennal flagella pale white to orangish red. Pereiopods pale white with some reddish brown patches. Pleopods pale white with lateral surfaces bearing white and reddish brown patches. Uropods dark brown, exopods white margined and endopods only with mesial margins whitish.
Distribution. Eastern Mediterranean, Red Sea and western Arabian Sea including the Persian Gulf; at depths of 15– 65 m.
Remarks. Trachysalambria palaestinensis was generally considered as a synonym of T. curvirostris (e.g., Holthuis 1980; De Grave & Fransen 2011) but Sakaji & Hayashi (2003) are correct in determining it as a valid species. The dorsolateral carinae of the telson are very sharp in T. palaestinensis (Fig. 8 H, I) but always blunt in the other species of the genus (e.g., Fig. 17 K–L). Moreover, the thelycum of large females in this species has the lateral parts of the anterior plate distinctly expanded and thus having an inverted heart-shape (Fig. 8 G), which is quite different from the thelycum of other species of Trachysalambria. Nevertheless, the thelycum of small females is semi-triangular and similar to the general thelycum shape of the genus. There is also no significant difference in the shape of the petasma in this species (Fig. 8 D–F). The specific status of the present form is strongly supported by its high genetic divergence (>7% in both 12S and 16S rRNA genes; Tables 2, 3) from all the other congeneric species.
Although the type specimen of T. palaestinensis from the eastern Mediterranean is no longer extant (see Sakaji & Hayashi 2003), the original description of the species given by Steinitz (1932), particularly the illustration of an inverted heart-shape thelycum (Steinitz 1932: fig. 2), fits generally well with the characteristics of the present material. Moreover, at present, only this species is found in the eastern Mediterranean. Therefore, we follow Sakaji & Hayashi (2003) in identifying material with sharp dorsolateral carinae on the telson as T. palaestinensis.
Although T. palaestinensis is the commonest species in the Red Sea, it is now known that at least two other species of Trachysalambria (i.e., T. longipes and T. aspera) also occur there. Therefore, re-examination of the Trachysalambria specimens reported from the Red Sea (e.g., Nobili 1906; Balss 1915) is necessary to determine their exact identities (see under “Remarks” of T. aspera for the specimen reported by Ramadan 1938).
description: Published as part of Chan, Tin-Yam, Cleva, Régis & Chu, Ka Hou, 2016, On the genus Trachysalambria Burkenroad, 1934 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Penaeidae), with descriptions of three new species, pp. 201-254 in Zootaxa 4150 (3) on pages 223-227, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4150.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/264370