Periclimenes hirsutus Bruce, 1971

Bruce, A. J., 2008, Palaemonoid shrimps from the Australian north west shelf, Zootaxa 1815, pp. 1-24 : 11-12

Periclimenes hirsutus Bruce, 1971

Periclimenes hirsutus Bruce, 1971: 91–98 , figs. 1–6. Material examined. 1 ovig. ♀, CL 5.4, CMAR Cruise SS 05 2007, stn 129–020, 121.0584°S; 15.7928°

E; 119m, beam trawl, 1 July 2007, QM W 28403 .

Diagnosis. Rostrum straight, dentition 7–10/0–2, carapace, abdomen and caudal fan pubescent, without supraorbital or supraocular teeth and epigastric spines, antennal spine marginal, hepatic spine small, inferior orbital angle feebly produced, without reflected inner flange, third abdominal segment not strongly posterodorsally produced, cornea hemispherical with accessory pigment spot, epistome unarmed, mouthparts normal, maxillipedal epipods simple, exopods well developed with numerous plumose setae, third maxilliped with arthrobranch, fourth thoracic sternite without median process, first pereiopod with fingers subspatulate, cutting edges entire, second pereiopods subequal, similar, pubescent, cutting edges distally entire, proximally dentate, merus with distoventral tooth, ambulatory pereiopods with dactyl simply biunguiculate, propods with numerous dense tufts of long setae medially and laterally, telson with two pairs of small dorsal spines, three pairs of posterior spines, lateral pair minute.

Colouration. (From notes). Body and all appendages a uniform deep red.

Remarks. The single example agrees closely with the original description with the exception that the major part of the body surface is very sparsely setose rather than covered with a dense pubescence. As the type material was hand caught in shallow water this may be the result of abrasion in the process of capture. The rostrum has a dentition of 8/0. Host not recorded, previously found in association with diadematid asteroids. Most reports of this species have been from shallow water, with the deepest at 54m, from the Northern South China Sea ( Li, Bruce & Manning, 2005). The present record of 119m provides a considerable increase in its known depth range. In shallow water the species is associated with the echinoid Astropyge radiata (Leske). The hosts of deeper water specimens remain unknown.

Distribution. New to the Australian fauna. Previously reported from Zanzibar, Seychelle Islands, Andaman Islands, China, Fijian Islands, and New Caledonia.