Bathysquilla microps
Creators: name: Martins, Déborah Elena Galvão
name: Alves-Júnior, Flavio De Almeida
name: Cintra, Israel Hidenburgo Aniceto
name: Bentes, Bianca
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Malacostraca
Stomatopoda
Bathysquillidae
Bathysquilla
Bathysquilla microps

description: Bathysquilla microps (Manning, 1961)
(Figs. 1, 2A–F, 3A–C)
Lysiosquilla microps Manning, 1961: 693–696, figs. 1–5.
Bathysquilla microps.— Manning 1963: 323.— Manning 1969: 95, figs. 26, 27, 28.— Manning & Struhsaker 1976: 443, figs. 1D–F, 2.— Takeda 1983: 171, unnumbered figure.—Moosa 1985: 371, fig. 1.— Bruce 1988: 90, figs. 1E–G, 5, frontispiece B.— Manning et al. 1990: 314, fig. 1.— Manning 1991: 13; 1995: 18.—Tavares & Mendonça Jr. 1997: 929, fig. 1A–C, E–F.— Moosa 2000: 412, 407 (in list).— Ahyong 2001: 12, fig. 7; 2002: 349, fig. 1.— Ahyong 2004: 520, fig. 166D–F, pl. 30A— Serejo et al. 2007: 138 (in list).— Ahyong 2012: 14, figs. 5A–H, 6, frontispiece 1A.— González & Biscoito 2015: 1302, figs. 1, 2.— Ahyong 2017: 556, fig. 1A.
Material examined. LABCRUS 91.1.1A, 1 male (TL 178 mm), ReviZEE, 04°15'17"N, 49°08'49"W, Amapá State, 815 m, muddy bottom, 24 June 2001; LABCRUS 91.1.1C, 1 male, ReviZEE, 04°13'15"N, 049°10'51"W, Amapá State, 772 m, muddy bottom, 22 June 2001; LABCRUS 91.1.1E, 1 male, 1 female, ReviZEE, 04°18'32"N, 049°12'5"W, Amapá State, 868 m, muddy bottom, 30 June 2001; LABCRUS 91.1.1F, 1 female, ReviZEE, 04°17'26"N, 049°11'9"W, Amapá State, 830 m, muddy bottom, 30 June 2001.
Distribution. Western Atlantic: Bahamas, United States (Florida), Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil (Amapá [present record], Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro). East Atlantic: Morocco, Western Sahara. Indo-Pacific: Hawaii, Mariana Islands, French Polynesia, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Tonga, Austral Islands, South China (Fig. 1); covering the depths between 604 and 1519 m (Takeda 1983; Tavares & Mendonça Jr. 1997; Serejo et al. 2007; Ahyong 2012; González & Biscoito 2015). Our specimens were collected within the known depth range.
Remarks. In general, the material analyzed here fits well with the main diagnostic characters described by Manning (1961), and additional remarks given by Tavares & Mendonça Jr. (1997) and Ahyong (2012). Our specimens showed a symmetrical pentagonal rostral plate (Fig. 2A–B), as reported by Takeda (1983) and Ahyong (2012). Asymmetrical deformities in the rostral plate, however, have been reported in the holotype (Manning 1961) from Tortugas, Florida Straits, with a deformed median spine, and more recent specimens collected by González & Biscoito (2015) from Morocco, which showed a bifid anterolateral corner on the right. All individuals collected from Amapá State (Brazil) demonstrated pigmented eyes (Figs. 3A), as reported by Ahyong (2012) and González & Biscoito (2015).
In our individuals, the number of teeth on the raptorial claw ranged from 11 to 13 (Table 1); one specimen had 11 teeth on the left claw and 12 teeth on the right claw (including a small proximal tooth) (Fig. 2C–D). Similar asymmetry was observed by Tavares & Mendonça Jr. (1997), with the only male specimen showing 15 teeth on the left claw and 14 on the right claw. The variation in the number of teeth on the raptorial claws has been widely recognized, being usually 13, but ranging from 12 to 15 teeth (see Manning 1961; Manning & Struhsaker 1976; Takeda 1983; Tavares & Mendonça Jr. 1997; Ahyong 2012; González & Biscoito 2015).
Manning (1961, 1969) and Ahyong (2001, 2012) described B. microps as having a triangular lateral process that sometimes bifurcates distally on the seventh thoracic somite; however, this bifurcated condition has not been figured, being this structure represented here in Fig. 3B–C. The specimens examined herein showed the posterior border of the fifth and sixth abdominal somite less ornamented (Fig. 2E), when compared with Pacific specimens from Australia (Ahyong 2001). Additionally, in our individuals, the telson primary distal spines are less acute (Fig. 2E). The specimens herein examined showed no relationship between total length and PI, including no variation between eye sizes. However, the individuals collected in the Amazonian Continental Slope (ACS) showed larger total sizes (Table 1) compared to B. microps sampled by Tavares & Mendonça Jr. (1997) (TL 152 mm) from southwestern Brazil, but they were within the range analyzed by González & Biscoito (2015) (TL 117.68–184.34 mm) from the Eastern Atlantic and smaller than the individual reported by Takeda (1983) (TL 250 mm) from Suriname and French Guiana. Furthermore, Manning et al. (1990) observed individuals with total length ranging between 45 and 255 mm.
Our original photo of the fresh specimen (Fig. 3A) fits well with the color description by Manning & Struhsaker (1976) and Ahyong (2012), with the individuals showing the dorsal surface deep-red, with the antenna, antennules, raptorial claw and ambulatory legs between reddish-orange and translucent white. Despite the Amazon region being considered a hotspot of diversity, little is known about the deep crustacean biodiversity, especially on the deep-sea stomatopods. Thus, this paper reports the northernmost record of the species B. microps in Brazilian deep waters, increasing morphological information about the species.
description: Published as part of Martins, Déborah Elena Galvão, Alves-Júnior, Flavio De Almeida, Cintra, Israel Hidenburgo Aniceto & Bentes, Bianca, 2025, Range extension of the mantis shrimp Bathysquilla microps (Manning, 1961) (Stomatopoda: Bathysquillidae) from the Brazilian deep waters, pp. 285-290 in Zootaxa 5621 (2) on pages 286-289, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5621.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/15262699