Cancer theresae Curtiss, 1938

Ng, Peter K. L., Eldredge, Lucius G. & Evenhuis, Neal L., 2011, The names of decapod and stomatopod Crustacea from Tahiti, French Polynesia, established by Anthony Curtiss in 1938 and 1944, Zootaxa 3099, pp. 43-56 : 44-45

Cancer theresae Curtiss, 1938 [óura miti]

Astacus penicillatus Olivier, 1791: 343 ; or Panulirus bispinosus Borradaile, 1899: 418 .

Cancer theresae Curtiss, 1938: 162 .

The identity of this Tahitian lobster is not certain. Curtiss’s (1938: 160) description of its colour as “dark brownish red, variegated on the under side with bluish and bright red” suggests that it could be Panulirus femoristriga ( Von Martens, 1872) or P. longipes bispinosus Borradaile, 1899 , both of which are present in French Polynesia. However, P. femoristriga is only known so far from the Marquesas which is some 3000 km to the northeast of Tahiti. It is not yet known from Society, Tuamotu or Austral Islands. Most significantly, it is not yet known from Tahiti. On the other hand, P. longipes bispinosus has been recorded from Tahiti by Poupin & Juncker (2010: 191, photo b). As such, Curtiss’s (1938) record is most likely to belong to this subspecies (see also Chan & Chu 1996; Chan 1998). Panulirus femoristriga ( Von Martens, 1872) is a senior synonym of P. albiflagellum Chan & Chu, 1996 (see Chan & Ng 2001).

Holthuis (1991: 151) listed Cancer theresae Curtiss, 1938 , under the synonymy of Panulirus penicillatus ( Olivier, 1791) , another species common in Tahiti and the rest of French Polynesia, but without explanation. This synonymy has since been followed by later authors (e.g., Chan 1998; Poupin 1994, 1996; Davie 2002). However, the colour of the carapace of P. penicillatus is usually green to blue and with patches of dull brown (e.g., see Chan 1998: 1019; Poupin & Juncker 2010: 197), and the species reaches sizes of 20–30 cm in total length ( Chan, 1998: 1019). Panulirus longipes bispinosus , on the other hand, has a dark reddish-brown carapace (e.g., see Chan 1998: 1017; Poupin & Juncker 2010: 190, 191), and usually only reaches total lengths of 18–25 cm ( Chan 1998: 1017). Curtiss’s (1938: 160) description of the colour agrees much better with P. longipes bispinosus , although the size he gave, “From the snout to the end of the tail it is thirteen inches long”, is not helpful and could refer to either species. Curtiss (1938: 161) commented that “It has two horns behind the eyes, which stick out over the eyes; on either side, beside the eyes, outward, are two spines; there are four spines in front of the eyes, on the snout”. The position of these four spines is on the antennular plate, and according to Holthuis (1991) and Chan (1998), the presence of four closely set main spines on this plate is a diagnostic character for P. penicillatus . This probably led Holthuis (1991) to infer that Cancer theresae was P. penicillatus . Panulirus longipes bispinosus , on the other hand, has only two spines on the margin of the antennular plate with several smaller spines behind it. It is not known how Curtiss counted the spines, so it is not possible to be certain of the real identity of Cancer theresae . A neotype designation will probably need to be made at a later date to fix the name Cancer theresae Curtiss, 1938 , and make it a junior synonym of either Panulirus longipes bispinosus Borradaile, 1899 , or Panulirus penicillatus ( Olivier, 1791) .