Teleophrys ruber ( Stimpson, 1871 )

Parasram, Nadeshinie, Santana, William & Vallès, Henri, 2023, Checklist of the shallow-water marine Brachyura (Crustacea: Decapoda) of Barbados, West Indies, Zootaxa 5314 (1), pp. 1-62 : 31-32

Teleophrys ruber ( Stimpson, 1871)

( Fig. 15A )

Mithraculus ruber Stimpson, 1871: 118 [type-locality: Cuba; type in MCZ]; Wagner 1990: 53; Lira et al. 2013: 54, tab. 1.

Mithraculus nudus A. Milne-Edwards, 1875: 110 ; Miers, 1886: 87.

Mithrax rubei .— Miers, 1886: 87 (misspelling).

Mithrax ruber .— Rathbun, 1901: 60; Rathbun, 1924: 21; Rodríguez 1980: 289.

Mithrax (Mithraculus) ruber .— Rathbun 1921: 85; 1925: 432, pl. 157.

Mithrax humphreyi .— Jones, 1969: 381 [type-locality: Christ Church, Barbados; type lost] .

Teleophrys ruber . — Windsor & Felder 2014: 148, tab. 1, 152, 156, fig. 3N, 157, fig. 4O; Klompmaker et al. 2015: 3, tab. 1; Assugeni et al. 2017: 1630, tab. 1; González-Gómez et al. 2018: 11, tab. 1; Poupin 2018: 198, fig. 217.

Distribution. Western Atlantic: USA (Florida), Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Gulf of Mexico, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Martin, St. Eustatius, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Isla de Aves, Barbados, Tobago, Margarita, Isla de Cubagua, Los Roques, Tortuga, Bonaire, Curaçao, Colombia, and Venezuela ( Rathbun 1925; Poupin 2018).

Material examined. Barbados, Old Chefette, St. James , subtidal, 13°10’45.13”N, 59°38’25.62”W, 1 Ô CW: 10.3 mm ( BLSZ 125 ) . Carlisle Bay , St. Michael, subtidal, 13°05’07.15” N, 59°36’36.90”W, 4 Ô, 1 ♀, 3 ♀ (ovig.) CW: 8.1, 8.1, 7.2, 7.1, 9.2, 10.1, 7.7, 10.1 mm ( BLSZ 125 ) . Idem , 1 Ô CW: 10.0 mm ( MZUSP 40914 ) . Coconut Court , Christ Church, nearshore rubble, 13°4’31.59”N, 59°36’13.78”W, 1 ♀ (ovig.), 1 Ô CW: 10.5, 14.5 mm ( BLSZ 232 ) .

Remarks. Specimens of Teleophrys ruber were collected by hand at low tide in nearshore rubble habitats and caught in crab traps placed on rocky and sandy bottoms (~ 4m deep) on the west and south coasts of Barbados. Ovigerous females were collected in December 2018 and June 2021 in nearshore rubble and nearshore subtidal habitats. Rathbun (1921: 85) reported specimens of Teleophrys ruber collected in Barbados from depths of 0–151 m (0–84 fathoms (one male, USNM 72576; one male, USNM 72578); one male, USNM 72573; three female, two males, USNM 72259; four males, one female, one juvenile, USNM 72574; one male, one female (immature), USNM 72723; three males, one female (immature), USNM 72575; one male, one juvenile, USNM 72262; six males, six juvenile females, USNM 72565). Jones (1969: 382) also reported Teleophrys ruber for Barbados and described a new species, Mithrax humphreyi Jones 1969 , which is now considered to be a junior synonym of Teleophrys ruber . Teleophrys ruber can be identified by two lobes and one to three spines on the anterolateral margin of the carapace; the third anterolateral spine is greatly reduced; chelipeds with two rows of tubercles on the merus and ambulatory legs with spines on the outer margin of the merus and carpus (modified from Wagner 1990).

Genus Thoe Bell, 1835

Figures

FIGURE 15. Superfamily Majoidea Samouelle, 1819, dorsal habitus:A, Teleophrys ruber (Stimpson, 1871), male, cw 14.5 mm (BLSZ 232); B, Thoe puella Stimpson, 1860, male, cw 1.0 mm (MZUSP 40917). Scale bars: 5 mm.