Sphaerodromia kendalli ( Alcock & Anderson, 1894 )

Mclay, Colin L. & Ng, Peter K. L., 2005, On a collection of Dromiidae and Dynomenidae from the Philippines, with description of a new species of Hirsutodynomene McLay, 1999 (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura), Zootaxa 1029 (1), pp. 1-30 : 5

Sphaerodromia kendalli ( Alcock & Anderson, 1894)

Dromidia kendalli Alcock & Anderson, 1894: 175 .

Sphaerodromia kendalli . — Alcock 1900: 153.— Sakai 1976: 28, fig 16. — McLay 1993: 127, figs. 2a­i, 15a.— Ng et al. 2000: 163, fig. 3b.— Ng et al. 2001: 6.

Material. 1 ovigerous female, 23.7 x 23.5 mm, ca. 200–300 m, 28 Nov 2001, ZRC 2001.519 ; 1 female , 44.4 x 44.2 mm, ca. 200–300 m, 25–30 Jul 2003, ZRC 2003.674 ; 2 males , 21.5 x 20.9 mm, 25.5 x 25.0 mm, 200–300 m, Mar 2004, ZRC . All locations in Balicasag Island , Panglao, Bohol, Visayas, Philippines; purchased from local shell fishermen, obtained by tangle nets .

Remarks. Sphaerodromia kendalli specimens are covered with short yellow­brown tomentum and the cheliped fingers are light pink when fresh. McLay (1993) had recorded a female 40.6 by 39.7 mm from the Visayas, north of Bohol Island in the Philippines. The present female measuring 44.4 by 44.2 mm (ZRC 2001.519) is the largest known specimen of S. kendalli . The largest known male is a 20.1 by 20.8 mm specimen reported from the Moluccas by McLay (1993). The ovigerous female reported above (ZRC 2001.519) carried approximately 2300 eggs which appear to be newly laid, each measuring about 0.4 mm in diameter. Balss (1922) reported that the egg size was 0.5 mm in a female from Japan. These data suggest that S. kendalli has indirect development with free­living zoeal larvae. The actual larval development is unknown for any species of Sphaerodromia .

Distribution. Sphaerodromia kendalli was reported from the Philippines and southeast Moluccas by McLay (1993). Previous depth records for this species are in a relatively narrow range of 200 to 214 m, and the present specimens come from a similar depth. Other sphaerodromiine crabs are typically found in deeper water down to approximately 400 to 500m (see McLay 1993).