Dairella californica (Bovallius)

Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2004, A review of the families and genera of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Phronimoidea Bowman & Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), Zootaxa 567, pp. 1-66 : 50-55

Dairella californica (Bovallius) ( Figs 7–10 )

Paraphronima californica Bovallius, 1885: 11–12 .

Dairella californica – Bovallius 1887: 24. Bovallius 1889: 333–336, pl. 15, figs 21–33. Lorz & Percy 1975: 1444 (table). Brusca 1981: 42, fig. 12. Vinogradov et al. 1982: 331–333, fig. 176. Barkhatov & Vinogradov 1988: 167, 168 (table). Vinogradov 1990: 65. Vinogradov 1991: 261 (table). Barkhatov et al. 1999: 808 (table). Gasca & Shih 2001: 496 (table).

Dairella latissima Bovallius, 1887: 24 . New synonymy. – Bovallius 1889: 336–340, pl. 15, figs 1– 20. Vosseler 1901: 51. Tattersall 1906: 18. Chevreux 1913: 16. Stewart 1913: 254. Stephensen 1924: 112. Schellenberg 1927: 638, fig. 43. Spandl 1927: 169. Pirlot 1929: 107. Barnard 1932: 282. Chevreux 1935: 184. Barnard 1937: 184. Pirlot 1939: 41. Reid 1955: 19, fig. 5. Grice & Hart 1962: 300. Dick 1970: 59, fig. 7. Stuck et al. 1980: 363. Vinogradov et al. 1982: 333–335, fig. 177. Vinogradov 1988: fig. 2e. Vinogradov 1990: 65. Vinogradov 1999a: 1181, fig. 4.92. Gasca & Shih 2001: 496 (table).

Dairella bovalli Stebbing, 1888: 1343–1346 , pl. 158. New synonymy.

Type material

Type material of D. californica is considered lost (see above). In the SMNH there is one microscope slide of uropod 3 labelled “ Paraphronima californica ”, without locality data, which may represent type material. The description and figures of Bovallius (1889) readily characterise this species. The type locality is “The Pacific”, according to Bovallius (1885) and “off the coast of South California ” ( Bovallius 1887).

Type material of synonyms

Type material of D. latissima could not be found at the SMNH, ZMUC, or Uppsala and is considered lost. The species is characterised by the description and figures of Bovallius (1889). The type locality is the “South Atlantic” according to Bovallius (1887).

Type material of D. bovalli is in the BMNH (89.5.15.201). It is in relatively good condition, and indistinguishable from that figured for D. latissima by Bovallius (1889). Bovallius’s (1887) description is misleading in regard to the relative lengths of the carpus and propodus of the gnathopods, and the peduncles of uropods 1 & 2; characters that Stebbing (1888) used to distinguish his species.

Material examined (> 200 specimens)

Types. Syntypes of D. bovalli from “off St. Vincent, Cape Verde Islands ”, 16º49’N, 25º14’W, Challenger, 26 April, 1876: on six microscope slides.

Other material examined. North Atlantic: 7 lots ( USNM), 1 lot ( ZMB), 27 lots ( ZMUC), 58 specimens. South Atlantic : 12 lots ( ZMUC) , 46 specimens. Mediterranean Sea: 6 lots ( ZMUC) 6 specimens. North Pacific : 3 lots ( SAMA), 4 lots ( USNM), 8 lots ( ZMUC), 54 specimens. South Pacific : 22 lots ( ZMUC) , 67 specimens. South Indian : 1 lot ( SAMA), 3 lots ( ZMUC), 4 specimens. Central Indo­Pacific : 1 lot ( SMNH), 1 lot ( ZMUC), 2 specimens. Tasman Sea : 5 lots ( ZMUC) , 6 specimens.

Remarks

This seems to be a rare species, although Lorz and Pearcy (1975) found about 60 specimens off the Oregon coast. Very little is known regarding its biology. Laval (1980) found a sub­adult female attached to the siphonophore Forskalia edwardsi and a sub­adult male attached to the narcomedusan Cunina vitrea , both caught near Villefranche, France. Vinogradov (1988) records it as penetrating the host tissue, and burying the abdomen in a manner reminiscent of the behaviour of hippoboscid flies.

Distribution

This species has now been recorded from the warm waters of all oceans, including the Mediterranean Sea, but appears to be most common in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, it remains to be recorded from the North Indian Ocean. It is recorded here from the South Indian Ocean and the Tasman Sea for the first time. Vinogradov et al. (1982, in 1996 supplement) also record it from the subantarctic (40º–50ºS, 158ºW).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Dairella californica. A, dorsal view of ovigerous female, 7.2 mm, tropical SE Atlantic (Dana stn. 3996iii). B, lateral view of male, 8.1 mm, central South Pacific (Dana stn. 3620v). C, D, uropod 3 of male and female, 6.6 mm, central South Pacific (Dana stn. 3620v). E, uropod 3 of B. Scale bars = 1.0 mm (A, B), 0.5 mm (C–E).

FIGURE 8. Dairella californica, ovigerous female, 7.2 mm, tropical SE Atlantic (Dana stn. 3996iii). Scale bar = 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 9. Dairella californica, male, 6.0 mm, North Pacific, off San Francisco (USNM). Scale bar = 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 10. Dairella californica, male, 7.2 mm, North Pacific off San Francisco (USNM, Albatross stn. 2937). Scale bar = 0.05 mm.