Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936

Trivedi, Jigneshkumar N., Lowry, James K., Myers, Alan A. & Keloth, Rajmohana, 2020, Two species of Talorchestia Dana 1853 (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Talitridae) including T. lakshadweepensis sp. nov. from the Lakshadweep Islands, India, Zootaxa 4732 (2), pp. 295-306 : 297-298

Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936

( Figs. 1A , 2–5 )

Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936: 181 (Assab, Eritrea).― Froglia, 2001: 70, Appendix 2.― Lowry & Springthorpe, 2019: 353 , table 1, 364, figs 9–12.

Talorchestia franchetti Maccagno, 1936: 179 (Assab, Eritrea).― Froglia, 2001: 70, Appendix 2.

Talorchestia martensii .― Ruffo, 1938: 169 ( Eritrea: Difnen Island, Red Sea, no illustrations, no description).― Ruffo, 1969: 40, fig. 12 (map) (Goliath Bay, Entedebir Island, Dahlak Archipelago, and Massawa, Eritrea; Port Sudan, Sudan; Ghardaqa, Egypt; all Red Sea, no illustrations or description).― Jones, 1986: 150, pl. 41.

Material studied. 12 males (4.3–6.7 mm) and 60 females (2.9–4.4 mm), LFSC.ZRC-109, Cheriyam Island (10°04’11’N 73°39’37’’E), sandy shore, 29 November, 2017, Coll. Rajmohana Keloth.

Category. Mascupod.

Ecological type. Beach-hoppers (mainly coastal supralittoral/intertidal leaf-litter/wrack, non-substrate modifying talitrids).

Remarks. Material examined here agrees well with material described by Lowry & Springthorpe, 2019 from Kenya. It should be noted, however, that material described here from India is less than half the size of the lectotype described by Lowry & Springthorpe (2019) and may therefore consist entirely of juveniles.

Distribution. Kenya. Gazi Bay ( Lowry & Springthorpe 2019). Red Sea coast: Hurghada, Egypt; Port Sudan, Sudan ( Ruffo 1938, 1969; Lowry & Springthorpe 2019) Goliath Bay, Entedebir Island, Dahlak Archipelago, and Massawa, Eritrea; Port Sudan, Sudan; Ghardaqa, Egypt ( Ruffo 1969). India. Lakshadweep Islands (current study).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936, A. male, 6.7 mm, LFSC.ZRC-110, Talorchestia lakshadweepensis sp. nov., B. male paratype, 4.8 mm, ZSI, WRC-C.1912, Cheriyam Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.

FIGURE 2. Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936, male, 6.7 mm, female, 4.4 mm, LFSC.ZRC-110, Cheriyam Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.

FIGURE 3. Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936, Developmental stages of male gnathopods, male (4.3–6.7 mm), LFSC.ZRC- 110, Cheriyam Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.

FIGURE 4. Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936, female, 4.4 mm, male, 6.7 mm, LFSC.ZRC-110, Cheriyam Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.

FIGURE 5. Talorchestia affinis Maccagno, 1936, male, 6.7 mm, LFSC.ZRC-110, Cheriyam Island, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India.