Garthiope spinipes (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 )

In, First Published, 2022, Brachyuran crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the remote oceanic Archipelago Trindade and Martin Vaz, South Atlantic Ocean, Zootaxa 5146, pp. 1-129 : 61-62

Garthiope spinipes (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

( Fig. 32A–D )

Micropanope spinipes A. Milne-Edwards, 1880: 14 .

Trindade specimens. 1 male ( MZUSP 40248 ) , 1 male ( MZUSP 41413 ) , 5 females (1 ovigerous) ( MZUSP 40932 ), Brazil, off Espírito Santo, Trindade Island, Ponta da Calheta , 20º30’18.72”S, 29º18’31.6 ” W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 24.xi.2017, 17 m . 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 40936 ), ibidem, 19.3 m . 1 juvenile female ( MZUSP 41059 ), ibidem , 5.xi.2014, 13.9 m. 1 juvenile male (MZUSP 40927), ibidem, Enseada das Orelhas, 20º29’40.2 ” S, 29º20’32.9 ”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 21.vii.2015, 15 m.

Size of largest male: cl 6.3 mm, cw 9 mm; largest female: cl 6.1 mm, cw 9.1 mm.

Comparative material examined. Garthiope spinipes : Brazil: Espírito Santo: 1 male ( MZUSP 12153 ), Projeto Rio Doce , stn RD-54, 18º45’S, 39º28’W, 27 m . São Paulo: 1 male ( MZUSP 16711 ), Ilha Vitória, 23º44’04” S, 45º01’35”W, Saco do Hilario , D.F.R. Alves et al. coll., vii.2004 .

Distribution. Bermuda, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Antilles, Venezuela, and Brazil (Amapá, Maranhão, Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo and São Paulo), between 1 and 82 m ( Rathbun 1930; Melo 1996; Alves et al. 2006; 2012b; Felder et al. 2009). This is the first record of Garthiope spinipes from Trindade.

Ecological notes. This species has been reported from sand bottoms ( Melo 1996), coral reefs and sponges ( Rathbun 1930) and rubble bottoms ( Felder et al. 2009). In Trindade it occurs under rocks on sand bottoms between 13.9 and 19.3 m.

Remarks. The first male gonopod of the males from Trindade fully agree with that of of Garthiope spinipes from Tortugas, Florida, as illustrated by Guinot (1990: 477, fig. 3A, 3B). The Trindade specimens also agree with materials from elsewhere in having the characteristic heterochelous, red, chelipeds ( Fig. 32A–D ).

Figures

FIGURE 32. A–D, Garthiope spinipes (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880). A, B, Male, cl 6 mm, cw 8.6 mm (MZUSP 40248). C, D, Ovigerous female, cl 6.1 mm, cw 9.1 mm (MZUSP 40936). Habitus, dorsal (A,C) and ventral (B, D) aspects. Photographs by A. Pol.