Miersiella haswelli ( Miers, 1886 )

Mendoza, Jose Christopher E. & Ng, Peter K. L., 2010, The Euxanthine Crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Xanthidae) Of The Philippines, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58 (1), pp. 57-74 : 68

Miersiella haswelli ( Miers, 1886)

( Fig. 4C, D )

Material Examined. – 1 male, 7.4 × 5.5 mm, 2 females, 5.6 × 4.1 mm to 6.4 × 4.6 mm ( ZRC 2008.1400 ), Stn. CP2343 , off Pamilacan Is., 273–356 m, 9°27.4'N 123°49.4'E, Bohol Sea, coll. MV DA- BFAR, PANGLAO 2005 Deep-Sea Cruise , 23 May 2005 ; 1 male (damaged), 5.0 × 3.7 mm ( ZRC 2008.1401 ), Stn. DW 2376, off Aligbay Is., 189–219 m, 8°40.7'N 123°16.1'E, Bohol / Sulu seas sill, coll. MV DA-BFAR, PANGLAO 2005 Deep-Sea Cruise , 28 May 2005 .

Remarks. – This species was described from New South Wales, eastern Australia as Medaeus haswelli Miers, 1886 . Guinot (1967a) established a new genus, Miersiella , and designated it as the type species. The present specimens agree well with the illustrations provided by Miers (1886: 117, Pl. XI, Fig. 2 ) and Guinot (1967a: 359–362, Figs. 17–20). Miersiella haswelli has been erroneously reported from the Philippines by Serène & Vadon (1981), but their specimens are actually Miersiella cavifrons (see earlier Remarks). Therefore, this report is in fact the first record of Miersiella haswelli from the Philippines. The species has previously been recorded from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, and Japan, New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, Norfolk Ridge, Wallis Island, Waterwitch Bank and Kermadec Island, in the Western Pacific ( Davie, 1997; Takeda & Weber, 2006; Ahyong, 2008).

Figures

Fig. 4. Epistocavea mururoa Davie, 1993, male (33.2 × 23.5 mm) (L36, ZRC 2008.1371): A, dorsal view; B, frontal view; Miersiella haswelli (Miers, 1886), male (7.4 × 5.5 mm) (CP2343, Pamilacan Is., ZRC 2008.1400); C, dorsal view; D, ventral view; Paraxanthodes obtusidens (Sakai, 1965), female (30.1 × 20.3 mm) (Balicasag Is., NMCR-27357); E, dorsal view; F, frontal view; G, Medaeops granulosus (Haswell, 1882), female (12.5 × 9.0 mm) (Iloilo, NMCR-9705); H, Paraxanthodes cumatodes (MacGilchrist, 1905), male (5.7 × 4.1 mm) (T1, Panglao Is., ZRC 2008.1409).

Fig. 2. Live colouration of euxanthine crabs from the Philippines: A, Hypocolpus haanii Rathbun, 1909, male juv., (11.5 × 8.0 mm) (B11, Pamilacan Is., ZRC 2008.1383); B, Ladomedaeus fungillus Manuel-Santos & Ng, 2007, male juv. (9.7 × 7.0 mm) (CP2708, ZRC 2008.1389); C, Miersiella cavifrons Takeda, 1989, male (9.8 × 6.6 mm) (L36, Panglao Is., ZRC 2008.1391); D, Paramedaeus globosus Serène & Vadon, 1981, male (6.0 × 4.6 mm) (T36, Cervera Shoal, MNHN-B31891); E, Paramedaeus simplex (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873), female (9.7 × 6.8 mm) (S7, Panglao Is., NMCR-27356); F, Paraxanthodes obtusidens (Sakai, 1965), male (18.6 × 13.0 mm) (CP2747, ZRC 2008.1410).