Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858

Petrescu, Iorgu, Chatterjee, Tapas & Schizas, Nikolaos V., 2016, New species and new records of Cumacea (Crustacea: Peracarida: Cumacea) from mesophotic reefs of Puerto Rico and U. S. Virgin Islands, Caribbean Sea, Zootaxa 4199 (1), pp. 1-78 : 6

Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858

Scorpionura vulgaris (J. Vaughn Thompson) W. Thompson, 1856 , p. 394 (nomen nudum).— Bate, 1858, pp. 101, 102.

Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858 , p. 203.— Norman, 1863, p. 271.— Sars, 1879, pp. 13–22, figs. 23–26.— Stebbing, 1893, p. 304.— Calman, 1905, p. 17.— Stebbing, 1913, pp. 10–11, figs. 4–7.— Fage, 1928, p. 231.— Zimmer, 1941, pp. 13, 36, 76, figs. 11, 49, 125.— Fage, 1951, pp. 24–26, figs. 17, 18.— Jones, 1960, pp. 171–172.— Gamô, 1967, p. 144.— Ledoyer, 1983, pp. 70–71.— Petrescu, et al., 2014c, pp. 533–536, figs. 4, 5.

Vaunthompsonia cf. cristata Bate, 1858 .— Petrescu & Iliffe, 2009, p. 132.

Bodotria longipes Sars, 1879 , pp. 13.

Material examined. 1 ovigerous female ( MGAB CUM 1803 ), Weinberg , La Parguera, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, 17° 32’03”N 66° 35’35”W, sorted from algae, 58 m, June 3, 2008 ; 1 ovigerous female ( MGAB CUM 1716 ), Ponce Ledge, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea , 17°55'27.68"N 66°32'39.08"W, 52 m, October 19, 2010 ; 1 subadult female, 1 manca ( MGAB CUM 1806 ), St. John , U.S. Virgin Islands, 54 m, May 8, 2012, 18°13'18.6960"N, 64°40'33.4560"W, collected by Nikolaos V. Schizas during the 2012 UPRM-DMS Mesophotic Cruise ; 1 subadult female ( MGAB CUM 1799 ), Tourmaline reef, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, April 29, 2012, 18°10'31.0800"N, 67°19'38.2800"W, 54 m, collected by Nikolaos V. Schizas during the 2012 UPRM-DMS Mesophotic Cruise.

Diagnosis. Carapace with double crest of spines on dorsal margin. Elongated body. Pereopod 1 basis with two stout long setae on medial margin. Uropodal peduncle as long as exopod.

Remarks. This species has been recorded earlier from the mesophotic zone of Puerto Rico: Tourmaline reef, Puerto Rico, 50 m depth ; St. Croix , U.S. Virgin Islands, 68 m depth; Lang Bank, St. Croix, U.S . Virgin Islands, 55 m depth; Cane Bay, St. Croix , U.S . Virgin Islands , 60 m depth ( Petrescu et al., 2014c). Herein, it is reported from La Parguera and Ponce, Puerto Rico .

Distribution. Initially described from the Atlantic waters of Europe ( Bate, 1858, Jones, 1976), but also from the Mediterranean Sea ( Sars, 1879), South Africa (Day, 1975), southeast Asia, Annam, ( Fage, 1951), Japan ( Gamô, 1962, 1967), South Korea ( Kang & Lee, 1995), Indonesia ( Petrescu, 1997). The species was first mentioned by Calman (1907) from Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (then called Danish West Indies). Other reports from the western Atlantic are from Belize ( Petrescu, 2002), Exuma Islands ( Bahamas) ( Petrescu, 2003), Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands ( Petrescu et al., 2014c, present report). Depth range: 0–2338 m deep.