Alima pacifica Ahyong 2001
Creators: name: Feller, Kathryn D.
name: Cronin, Thomas W.
name: Ahyong, Shane T.
name: Porter, Megan L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Stomatopoda
Squillidae
Alima
Alima pacifica

description: Alima pacifica Ahyong, 2001
(Fig. 4)
Material examined. Alima pacifica last stage larva; NE side of Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia; intertidal, collected at night by M.L. Porter and K.D. Feller; 1 June, 2012. All measurements and drawings reported in text are from a single reference specimen (KF205338, P.90967). Other specimens (KF205339, P.90965; KF205340, P.90968; KF205341, P.90964) are included in Table 1 for mean character measurements.
Description. Last larval stage 42.9 mm in total length. Carapace length 17.2 mm, with posterior edge terminating at thoracic somite 6; strong posterolateral spines extending to thoracic somite 8; anterior spine extending to the antennule flagella, 4.7 mm in length; 2 anterolateral spines, extending to base of eyestalks; short, dorsally directed spine placed on hump near posterior margin of carapace; lateral margins of carapace straight or convex, with 12 ventral spinules along each margin; carapace width 5.4 mm.
Eyestalks elongated; evidence of larval, adult retinae inferior to single cornea. Adult retina with visible midband emerging medial to larval retina.
Antennules with 3-segmented stalk, 3 setiferous flagella, lower 2 shortest. Antenna with stalk elongated, scale lying lateral to anterolateral angles of carapace; flagellum present.
Maxillipeds 1–5 well developed, first 2 elongated, last 3 short, all segments developed; maxillipeds 1–4 with epipod. Maxilliped 2 with spine on basal portion; propodus 8–9 times as long as deep, distal portion of upper margin pectinate; dactylus unarmed, 6 teeth visible under cuticle.
Thoracic somites elongated, not armed posterolaterally. Pereopods 1–3 well developed. Abdominal somites 1– 5 with posterolateral angles each drawn into strong upcurved spine; each somite with pair of well-developed pleopods; pleopods with gill buds.
Abdominal somite 6 dorsally with submedian spines only; with strong spine anterior to uropodal articulation; somite 6 not separated laterally from telson, demarcation visible mid-dorsally; outline of postlarval somite 6 clearly visible through cuticle.
Uropods well developed, with 3 to 4 teeth on outer margin of penultimate segment of exopod, last 1 or 2 spines free. Uropodal protopod with inner spine longer than outer, without distinct lobe between spines but with 2 rounded lobes of postlarva clearly visible through cuticle.
Telson 2.3 times as long as wide (average), without median carina or dorsal spine. Larval denticles with apices fixed: submedian 12–15, intermediate 15–19, none lateral. Postlarval denticles, movable apices of submedian teeth clearly visible through cuticle, about 2 submedian denticles present for every postlarval denticle; larval to adult intermediate denticles present in ratio of 1:1.
Coloration. As in A. orientalis, all A. pacifica non-retinal tissue in observed specimens is completely transparent with red, iridescent colored patches along edges of raptorial appendages and abdominal segments (Fig. 5).
Remarks. The last larva can be distinguished by the presence of postlarval features beneath the larval cuticle; these include the postlarval carapace, raptorial dactylus, telson
armature and uropod structure.
description: Published as part of Feller, Kathryn D., Cronin, Thomas W., Ahyong, Shane T. & Porter, Megan L., 2013, Morphological and molecular description of the late-stage larvae of Alima Leach, 1817 (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from Lizard Island, Australia in Zootaxa 3722 (1), DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3722.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/216990