Pitho lherminieri (Randall, 1967)

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 : 45

Pitho lherminieri (Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867)

( Fig. 23A–D )

Othonia lherminieri Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867: 20 [Type locality: Guadeloupe].

Trindade specimens. 1 male ( MZUSP 39685 ). off Espírito Santo , Trindade Island, Enseada dos Portugueses, 20º30’20.9’’S, 29º18’43.7’’W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 4.vii. 2016, 11.4 m . 1 male ( MZUSP 41175 ), ibidem, J.B. Mendonça coll., 22.xi.2014, 10.2 m . 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 33737 ), ibidem, Enseada dos Portugueses, Farol , 20º29’52.3’’S, 29º19’15.6”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 23.iv.2014, 12.5 m . 1 male, 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 41402 ), ibidem, J.B. Mendonça coll., 17.iv.2014, 13.3 m . 1 juvenile female ( MZUSP 41173 ) , 1 juvenile female ( MZUSP 41174 ), ibidem, Ponta da Calheta , 20º30’18.7’’S, 29º18’31.6”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 30.iv.2014, 15.6 m . 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 39889 ), ibidem, Enseada Praia do Príncipe , Ilha Sul, 20º31’34.32’’S, 29º19’27.98’’W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 21.x.2014, 17.8 m . 1 juvenile ( MZUSP 40193 ), ibidem, Enseada dos Portugueses, R /V “Marion Dufresne”, TAAF MD55/ Brésil Expedition coll., 22.v.1987 , vacuum suction sampler, 10 m. 1 male, 1 female ( MZUSP 41410 ), ibidem, Enseada das Orelhas, 20º29’40.2’’S, 29º20’32.9”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 30.vi.2012, 14.4 m . 1 male ( MZUSP 41575 ), ibidem, Praia do Noroeste , 20º29’46.4’’S, 29º20’35.4”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 28.xi.2017, 9.4 m . 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 40214 ), ibidem, Enseada da Cachoeira , Farrilhões, 20º31’29.8’’S, 29º19’52.0”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 21.xi.2017, 11.3 m . 1 molting female ( MZUSP 40208 ), ibidem, Praia do Noroeste , 20º29’46.4”S, 29º20’35.4”W, J.B. Mendonça coll., 28.xi.2017, 9.4 m .

Size of largest male: cl 5.5 mm, cw 4.8 mm; largest female: cl 6.0 mm, cw 5.0 mm.

Comparative material examined. Pitho lherminieri : Puerto Rico: 2 males, 3 females ( USNM 154818 ), Capriles coll., no further details . Brazil: Rio Grande Norte: 1 female ( MZUSP 22506 ), Rio do Fogo, Praia de Zumbi , 5º21.128’S, 35º21.182’W, Tavares et al. coll., 27.xi.2009, 3–6 m. Rocas Atoll: 1 male ( MZUSP 12475 ), R.L. Moura and R.S. Rosa coll., vii.1995. Fernando de Noronha Archipelago : 1 juvenile ( MZUSP 7237 ), Baía dos Golfinhos, S. Rodrigues coll., 28.x.1985. 1 juvenile female ( MZUSP 20560 ), ibidem, Praia das Caieiras , 3º50’11S, 32º23’53.4’’W, L.R. Simone & M. Cunha coll., 8.iii.2009. 2 males ( MZUSP 20543 ), 3º49’48’’S, 32º23’57.3’’W, L.R. Simone & M. Cunha coll., 11.iii.2009. São Paulo: 1 male ( MZUSP 9897 ), São Sebastião, Praia do Araçá, P. Montouché coll., 13.vi.1987. Santa Catarina : 1 male ( MZUSP 29876 ), Ilha do Arvoredo, J. Bouzon coll., xi.2001 .

Distribution. North Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Colombia (near Cartagena), Antilles, Venezuela, and Brazil (Pará to São Paulo, Santa Catarina) ( Vélez 1978; Rodriguez 1980; Lemaitre 1981; Williams 1984; Melo 1996; Bouzon & Freire 2007; Paiva et al. 2007; Felder et al. 2009). Brazilian oceanic islands: Rocas Atoll ( Tavares & Young 2007) and Fernando de Noronha. This is the first record of P. lherminieri from Trindade.

Ecological notes. Since its original description from cavities of keys in Guadeloupe (Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm 1867: 21), P. lherminieri ( Fig. 23A–D ) has also been found hidden between polyp stems of Palythoa (see Hartog & Türkay 1991) and in association with Thalassia , Halophila stipulacea , sand reefs of Phragmatopoma caudata and oyster ( Pinctada imbricata Röding ) and turkey wing ( Arca zebra ) beds ( Lemaitre 1981; Bolaños et al. 1996; Hernández-Ávila et al. 2012; Carmona-Suárez & Poupin 2016; Lane-Medeiros et al. 2021). Pitho lherminieri also occurs in a variety of bottom types over its geographic range including, mud, sand, broken-shell, loose rubble, rhodoliths, rocky and coral between the tide mark and 51 m, occasionally 220 m ( Williams 1984; Melo & Veloso 2005; Bouzon & Freire 2007; Tavares & Young 2007; Carmona-Suárez & Poupin 2016). In Trindade it occurred in association with macro- and calcareous algae between 9.4 m and 17.8 m.

Ovigerous females are known over the geographic range of the species from April to December (William 1984; see also above under material examined). The female MZUSP 40214 from Trindade was ovigerous carrying large eggs already at cl 5 mm, cw 4.5 mm ( Fig. 23D ). The larval development goes through 2 zoeal stages and one megalopa in 8–9 days ( Bolaños et al. 1996). The ultrastructure of the spermatozoa has been described by Hinsch (1973) (see also Jamieson et al. 1998).

Pitho lherminieri decorates the anterior part of the carapace with fragments of macroalgae ( Fig. 23B ).

The longspine squirrelfish, Holocentrus rufus (Walbaum) , preys upon P. lherminieri ( Randall 1967) .

Remarks. The Trindade specimens are very small in size with obsolete last carapace anterolateral tooth and have the carapace posterior region less tuberculate when compared to larger coastal specimens; the teeth on the P2–P5 dactyli vary in size.

Figures

FIGURE 23. A–D, Pitho lherminieri (Desbonne in Desbonne & Schramm, 1867). A, male, cl 5.5 mm, cw 4.8 mm (MZUSP 39685). Left rostral spine broken. Note hooked setae anteriorly. B, Ovigerous female, cl 6.0 mm, cw 5.0 mm (MZUSP 39685), decorated anteriorly with algae. C, D, Ovigerous female, cl 5 mm, cw 4.5 mm (MZUSP 40214). Note large eggs. Habitus dorsal (A–C) and ventral (D) views. Photographs by A. Pol.