Neostylodactylus amarynthis

Cleva, Régis, 2008, Stylodactylidae and Bathypalaemonellidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) from the PANGLAO 2004 and 2005 expeditions to the Philippines, with description of a new species of Stylodactylus A. Milne - Edwards, 1881, Zootaxa 1813, pp. 29-41 : 37

Neostylodactylus amarynthis (de Man, 1902)

Stylodactylus sp. ( amarynthis ) de Man, 1902: 897, pl. 27, fig. 64 a–b.

Stylodactylus Amarynthis— de Man, 1920: 32, pl. 5, fig. 9, 9 a–h.

Stylodactylus amarynthis— Kemp, 1925: 258.

Neostylodactylus amarynthis— Hayashi & Miyake, 1968: 603, fig.6; Chace, 1983: 4, figs. 1–3; Cleva, 1990a: 112; 1994: 60, fig.3; 1997: 402; De Grave, 2001: 49.

Material examined. Philippines, PANGLAO 2004: stn. T1, Bolod, 9°32.4’N – 123°47.3’E, 83–102 m, 30 May 2004, mud and many sponges: 3 males 2.7–3.0 mm, 1 ovig. female approx. 3.3 mm (carapace damaged), 1 female 2.7 mm. – Stn. T4, Bolod, 9°33.0’N – 123°48.5’E, 82 m, 0 1 June 2004, many large sponges: 1 male 2.5 mm, 1 female 2.0 mm. – Stn. T 28, 9°35.0’N – 123°51.4’E, 80 m, 0 1 July 2004, muddy sand: 1 ovig. female 3.9 mm.

Remarks. The presence of marginal denticles on the pleura of first five abdominal somites distinguishes N. amarynthis from all congeners. The PANGLAO specimens display a rostrum that is longer than carapace (RL/CL1.2–1.7), with 13–22 dorsal spines (three to five on the carapace proper) and four–six ventral spines.

Colouration. Kemp (1925: 259) described live specimens as the body being “closely mottled with pale grey greens, pale browns, black, and pinkish white. On each side of the carapace there was a large pinkish white blotch, terminating anteriorly in a brownish red spot, and other blotches of the same colour occurred on the dorsal aspect of the carapace, mid-laterally on the first abdominal somite and infero-laterally on the second and fourth somites. The tail-fan and tips of the antennules were dull red. The legs were pale grey green with reddish bands at the tips of the third maxillipeds and on the chelae of the first two legs”. Colouration appears to be variable also for this species: two specimens photographed during PANGLAO 2004 had a pink and violet body.

Distribution. Réunion, 70 m (Cleva, 1990); Andaman Is, 9 –15 m ( Kemp, 1925); Indonesia, 9 –120 m ??? (de Man, 1920, see Cleva, 1990: 113); Papua New Guinea, 35 m (de Grave, 2001); Japan, 30–60 m ( Hayashi & Miyake, 1968); Australia, 36–83 m ( Cleva, 1994); New Caledonia, 52 m ( Cleva, 1997). In the Philippines it has been collected between 38–102 m ( Chace, 1983; Cleva, 1990).