Munidopsis comarge Taylor, Ahyong & Andreakis, 2010, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Taylor, Joanne
name: Ahyong, Shane T.
name: Andreakis, Nikos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Decapoda
Galatheidae
Munidopsis
Munidopsis comarge

description: Munidopsis comarge sp. nov.
(Fig. 1)
Munidopsis serricornis. — Baba & Poore 2002: 241, 243, fig. 6A. — Poore et al. 2008: 22 [Not M. serricornis Lovén, 1852].
Not Munidopsis serricornis. — Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 6C, 7B, 8B, 9C–D [= M. treis Ahyong & Poore, 2004]. Not Munidopsis serricornis. — Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 6B, 7A, 8A, 9A [= undescribed species (Ahyong in prep.)].
Type material. WAM C45481, ovigerous female holotype (cl. 10.6 mm, pcl. 7.4 mm), off Albany, Western Australia, 35°26.05–26.25.00´S, 118°21.00–21.06´E, 900–915 m, sled, (stn SS10/2005/044) (acq. 041), coll. R. Wilson, 25 Nov. 2005.
Other material examined. AUSTRALIA, TASMANIA: NMV J58237, 1 damaged male, 1 female (cl. 11.0 mm, pcl. 8.0 mm), south of Tasmania, Cascade 1000 site, 43°51.68–51.03’S, 150°25.72–24.43’E, 800– 1000 m, 9 Apr. 2007 (stn SS02/2007/66) (acq. 026); NMV J58234, 1 male (cl. 10.0 mm, pcl. 7.1 mm), 43°49.80–49.46’S, 150°28.45–28.15’E, 835–870 m, 9 Apr. 2007 (stn SS02/2007/68) (acq. 004); NMV J58236, 1 male (cl. 6.5 mm, pcl. 4.7 mm), 1 ovigerous female (pcl. 7.3 mm), 2 females (cl. 7.0– 9.7 mm, pcl. 4.9–6.7 mm), Cascade site, 43°55.33–55.70’S, 150°27.91–28.31’E, 590–660 m, 10 Apr. 2007 (stn SS02/ 2007/75) (acq. 034); NMV J58235, 1 male (cl. 7.8 mm, pcl. 5.6 mm), 2 ovigerous females (cl. 8.7–9.3 mm, pcl. 6.1–6.7 mm), 43°56.01’S, 150°30.73–31.53’E, 780–870 m, 8 Apr. 2007 (stn SS02/2007/61) (acq. 034); NMV J58238, 2 ovigerous females (cl. 8.2–8.9 mm, pcl. 5.7–6.3 mm), 43°55.40–55.78’S, 150°27.88– 28.35’E, 590–660 m, 10 Apr. 2007 (stn SS02/2007/77) (acq. 050).
AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA: NMV J17100, 1 sex indet (cl. 4.9 mm, pcl 3.3 mm), South of Point Hicks, 38°21.90’S, 149°20.00’E, 1000 m, 23 Jul 1986, (stn SLOPE 32).
NEW ZEALAND, CHATHAM RISE: NIWA 53646, 4 males (cl. 7.7–10.4 mm, pcl. 5.5–6.9 mm), 5 females (cl. 9.4–10.1 mm, pcl. 6.5–7.5 mm), Diamond Head C Seamount, 44°08.82–08.79’S, 174°41.87– 42.10’W, 720–780 m, 26 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/98); NIWA 54360, 4 males (cl. 8.6–10.7 mm, pcl. 6.2–7.6 mm, 1 ovigerous female cl 9.2 mm, pcl 6.5 mm, 1 female cl 10.7 mm, pcl. 7.6 mm), 44°01.67–01.87’S, 174°35.46–35.44’W, 801–823 m, 28 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/121); NIWA 53683, 4 males (cl. 10.7–14.1 mm, pcl. 7.5–10.3 mm), 6 ovigerous females (cl. 10.6–11.9 mm, pcl. 7.4–8.2 mm), 5 females (cl. 7.2–12.0 mm, pcl. 4.9–8.4 mm), 44°08.38–08.54’S, 174°43.18–43.56’W, 641–758 m, 26 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/99); NIWA 54019, 3 males (cl. 7.6–13.2 mm, pcl. 5.4–9.4 mm), 2 females (cl. 12.4 mm, pcl. 8.8 mm), 1 damaged (pcl. 8.2 mm), 44°08.87–08.82’S, 174°43.49–43.52’W, 760–821 m, 27 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/112); NIWA 53962, 1 male (cl. 8.0 mm, pcl. 5.7 mm), 44°08.85–09.00’S, 174°41.45–41.64’W, 458–648 m, 27 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/111); NIWA 54088, 1 ovigerous female (cl. 9.7 mm, pcl. 7.1 mm), 44°08.97–09.02’S, 174°45.41–45.63’W, 519–609 m, 27 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/113); NIWA 53792, 1 male (pcl. ~ 7.9 mm), 44°09.49–09.44’S, 174°33.69–33.91’W, 681–913 m, 26 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/104); NIWA 54164, 3 males (cl. 8.2–13.4 mm, pcl. 5.5–9.4 mm), 1 ovigerous female (cl. 10.6 mm, pcl. 7.6 mm), 1 female (cl. 7.1 mm, pcl. 5.0 mm), 44°10.50–10.39’S, 174°33.13–33.36’W, 716–745 m, 27 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/116); NIWA 53882, 1 male (cl. 9.2 mm, pcl. 6.5 mm), 3 ovigerous females (cl. 10.1–11.7 mm, pcl. 7.0–8.0 mm), 2 females (cl. 10.6–10.8 mm, pcl. 7.5–7.8 mm), 44°10.50–10.68’S, 174°33.18–33.40’W, 704–709 m, 26 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/106); NIWA ex53916, 1 damaged male, Ritchie Seamount, with sponge, 44°10.61’S, 174°33.56’W, 760–960 m, 26 June 2009 (stn TAN0905/107); NIWA 67822, 1 male (cl. 9.5 mm, pcl. 6.7 mm) (stn TAN0905/97).
NEW ZEALAND, SNARES ISLANDS: NIWA 67821, 1 male (cl. 13.4 mm, pcl. 9.5 mm), 48°02.01’S, 166°06.01’E, 935 m, 25 Nov. 1998 (TRIP 1171 / 12, Z9583, J. Wills).
Description. Carapace: Moderately convex from side to side; widest near anterior third; sparsely covered with low granules or short striae, glabrous or with minute setae; cervical groove indistinct; with transverse row of epigastric scales on either side of midline, one or more scales occasionally with minute median point. Posterior orbital margins transverse to slightly oblique, outer orbital spine small, acute. Frontal margins concave, oblique; anterolateral spine similar to outer orbital spine. Lateral margins broadly convex, unarmed, with small notch at junction of anterior and posterior branchial regions. Rostrum broad, 0.38–0.48 remaining carapace length; distally trifid; apex slightly inclined dorsally; bluntly carinate dorsally; lateral margin convex. Posterior margin unarmed. Pterygostomian flap with short diagonal striae and small granules; anterior margin blunt, angular.
Sternum: Sternum longer than wide, triangular. Sternite 3 about one-third width of sternite 4, anterior margin crenulated, irregular; posterior margin of sternite 3 medially contiguous with anterior margin of sternite 4. Sternites smooth, unarmed.
Abdomen: Tergites with short, fine, scattered setae, without spines. Tergites 2–4 with elevated anterior ridge; tergites 2 and 3 also with shallow groove behind anterior ridge. Tergite 6 posterior margin not strongly produced. Telson composed of 8 plates. Uropodal endopod lateral margins setose, unarmed.
Eye: Ocular peduncle unarmed, dorsally setose; movable; partially concealed by rostrum. Cornea subglobular, as wide as peduncle. Small slender spine adjacent to lateral margin of eye.
Antennule: Basal article squat, with 2 distolateral spines, ventral slightly larger than dorsal; distomesial margin with short triangular tooth.
Antenna: Basal article with blunt, triangular mesial and lateral tooth, neither overreaching article 2. Article 2 with strong distolateral spine, reaching midlength of article 3. Articles 3 and 4 unarmed.
Maxilliped 3: Dactylus and propodus unarmed. Carpus extensor margin dentate. Merus extensor margin with distal spine; flexor margin with 2 large triangular spines proximally and 1 or 2 smaller spines distally. Ischium longer than wide, with distal flexor and extensor spine.
Pereopod 1 (cheliped): Elongate, 2.1–3.0 times carapace length; with scattered setae, most numerous on dorsal and ventral margins. Ischium with dorsal spine. Merus with 4 distal spines: dorsal, ventral, lateral and mesial; small dorsal spine near midlength, in line with distal dorsal spine; proximal mesial margin with 0–4 spines, in line with mesial distal spine (0–2, usually 1, in Australian specimens; 1–4, usually 2 or 3 in New Zealand specimens). Carpus about 1.7 times as long as high; outer surface with distal and subdistal spine (latter largest) on upper margin, and single spine near lower margin. Propodus unarmed, palm about 2.5 times as long as high; dorsal margin of palm longer than dactylus. Pollex and dactylus occlusal margins crenulated, apices with interlocking teeth.
Pereopods 2–4 (walking legs): Slightly compressed; decreasing in length posteriorly; with scattered, sparsely setose striae. Pereopod 2 not reaching cheliped carpus. Merus extensor margin with slender distal spine, otherwise unarmed; flexor margin with triangular distal spine, otherwise unarmed. Carpus with distal extensor spine and irregular or serrated (but not spinular) margin; with low, irregular, lateral carinae. Propodus extensor margin unarmed; flexor margin with movable spine at distal third and paired movable spines distally adjacent to dactylar articulation. Dactylus about two-thirds propodus length; extensor margin unarmed, with scattered setae; flexor margin with 8–11 corneous spines and with more slender movable spine at base of corneous unguis.
Epipods: Pereopods 1–4 without epipod.
Egg diameter: 1.2–1.4 mm.
Etymology. From the acronym for the Census of Marine life Project Continental Margin Ecosystems (COMARGE), in recognition of funding provided for the first author’s postdoctoral fellowship; used as a noun in aposition.
Colour in life. Not known.
Remarks. Munidopsis comarge sp. nov. closely resembles M. ternaria Macpherson, 2007, from New Caledonia in the combination of the broad, flattened, trifid rostrum; unarmed lateral margins of the carapace (excluding the anterolateral spine); presence of a small outerorbital spine; and absence of pereopodal epipods. The two species differ in the following features: the epigastric region in M. comarge sp. nov. bears a transverse row of scales on either side of the midline, rather than a pair of small epigastric spines in M. ternaria; the width of thoracic sternite 3 is about one-third rather than one-quarter the width of sternite 4; the dactyli of the walking legs bear a slender corneous spine at the base of the unguis (absent in M. ternaria) and the sternal plastron of M. comarge sp. nov. is more triangular in shape, with the broad outline of the lateral margins strongly divergent rather than almost subparallel.
The material assigned to M. comarge sp. nov. ranges from southeastern New Zealand to Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia, though no specimens are presently known from localities between Tasmania and Western Australia. The specimens agree closely in most respects, but the southeastern Australian and New Zealand specimens differ from the Western Australian holotype in having more spinose chelipeds. The specimens from Australia and New Zealand agree well, but differ in the following respects: 1) the inner proximal margin of the cheliped merus is less spinose in the Australian specimens, with 0–2 spines (usually 1), rather than 2–4 (usually 2 or 3), 2) the epigastric scales are sometimes more acutely produced in the New Zealand material, and 3), the carapace of Australian specimens is generally widest anterior to the midlength, rather than at or behind the midlength as in most New Zealand specimens. The significance of these differences is difficult to evaluate at present; they are treated here as intraspecific variation, but may prove to be more significant when more material becomes available for study. Thus, the type material is restricted to the holotype from Western Australia. The known distribution of M. comarge sp. nov. parallels that of the brachyuran crab, Neopilumnoplax nieli Ahyong, 2008, and the lithodid crab, Paralomis poorei Ahyong, 2010, which are known from New Zealand, southeastern Australia and southwestern Australia, with no records from the Great Australian Bight (Ahyong 2008).
As noted by Ahyong & Poore (2004) and Macpherson (2007), previous records of M. serricornis Lovén, 1852, from the southwestern Pacific are referrable to other species. Records of M. serricornis by Baba & Poore (2002) are based on M. comarge sp. nov., M. treis Ahyong & Poore, 2004, and a M. serricornis -like species currently under study by STA, and referred to as M. cf. serricornis in the key below. Similarly, specimens tentatively identified as M. serricornis from Tasmania by Ahyong & Poore (2004) are also referrable to M. cf. serricornis.
Distribution. Southwestern Australia, southeastern Australia, and southeastern New Zealand; 458–1000 m.
description: Published as part of Taylor, Joanne, Ahyong, Shane T. & Andreakis, Nikos, 2010, New records and new species of the munidopsine squat lobsters (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidae: Munidopsinae) from Australia, pp. 1-18 in Zootaxa 2642 on pages 3-6, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.198633