Janetogalathea californiensis ( Benedict, 1902 )

Hendrickx, Michel E., 2012, Squat lobsters (Crustacea: Decapoda: Galatheoidea and Chirostyloidea) collected during the TALUD XIV cruise in the Gulf of California, Mexico, and rediscovery of Gastroptychus perarmatus (Haig, 1968) in the eastern Pacific, Zootaxa 3418, pp. 28-40 : 33

Janetogalathea californiensis ( Benedict, 1902)

Galathea californiensis Benedict, 1902: 247 , fig. 1. — Rathbun 1904: 166. — Schmitt 1921: 164, fig. 104. — Luke 1977: 30 (catalogue). — Wicksten 1982: 245; 1987: 50; 1989: 315 (list). — Hendrickx 1993b: 309 (table).

Janetogalathea californiensis . — Baba & Wicksten 1997: 40, figs. 1, 2. — Hendrickx & Harvey 1999: 375 (list). — Fierro et al. 2008: 5 (list). — Baba 2005: 246 (list). — Baba et al. 2008: 82 (list). — Hendrickx et al. 2011: 91, figs. 1, 2.

Material examined. TALUD XIV. St. 4 (28°11'27"N, 112°32'06"W), 16 males (CL 9.7–21.0 mm; CLr 13.1–28.7 mm) (EMU-8945), 4 females (CL 10.6–14.0 mm; CLr 14.4–18.5 mm), and 11 ovig. females (CL 13.8–18.3 mm; CLr 17.8–24.1 mm) (EMU-8946), 435–451 m, benthic sledge. St. 8 (28°17'06"N, 112°33'39"W), 8 Apr 2011, 1 male (CL 16.6 mm; CLr 21.2 mm), 520–557 m, Agassiz dredge (EMU-8947). St. 20 (28°46'29"N, 112°45'40"W), 9 Apr 2011, 2 males (CL 12.2–13.5 mm; CLr 16.6–18.2 mm), and 1 juv. (not measured), 410–414 m, benthic sledge (EMU-8948). St. 30 (28°32'57"N, 112°59'26"W), 11 Apr 2011, 1 female (CL 9.5 mm; CLr 13.5 mm), and 1 ovig. female (damaged; CL approx. 16.0 mm), 270–309 m, benthic sledge (EMU-8949).

Size and fecundity. Baba & Wicksten (1997) reported a maximum CLr of 22.5 mm for males and 21.2 mm for females. Maximum size (CLr) of material examined herein is 28.7 mm for males, 18.5 for females, and 24.1 for ovigerous females. A total of 37 specimens of J. californiensis were collected, including 12 ovigerous females. Number of eggs per individual is as follow: 139 (CL 32.6 mm); 251 (CL 37.6 mm); 87 (CL 36.5 mm; female partly spent); 174 (CL 35.6 mm); 301 (CL 36.9 mm); 259 (CL 41.8 mm). Egg size of largest female (average based on 20 measurements): 0.65 mm. The smallest male examined (CL 9.7 mm) has the two gonopods fully developed.

Ecology. The material collected during the TALUD XIV cruise was found in the following epibenthic environmental conditions: depth, 270–557 m; temperature, 6.8–12.7 °C: dissolved oxygen concentration, 0.21–1.86 ml O2/ l (Table 1).

Remarks. Hendrickx et al. (2011) recently discussed the geographic and bathymetric distribution of J. californiensis , noting that the oxygen minimum zone that characterizes most of the Gulf of California, seems to play an important role in local distribution of this species. Prior to this study, J. californiensis had been reported in three localities in the Gulf of California, including two “Velero” and one GUAYTEC (R/V “El Puma”) cruises (see Hendrickx et al. 2011). All three stations were revisited during the TALUD XIV but no specimens of this species were found. The material reported herein is from four sampling stations, thus increasing to seven the total number of known localities within the Gulf of California. Altogether four males, two females, three ovigerous females, and one juvenile have been previously reported from the Gulf of California ( Wicksten 1987; Baba & Haig 1997; Hendrickx et al. 2011). Material examined herein includes an additional 37 specimens.