Eiconaxius agassizi Bouvier, 1905

Poore, Gary C. B., 2018, Caribbean species of Eiconaxius (Decapoda: Axiidea: Axiidae), Zootaxa 4524 (1), pp. 139-146 : 140

Eiconaxius agassizi Bouvier, 1905

( Figs 1 , 4 )

Eiconaxius agassizi Bouvier, 1905: 803 .

Iconaxius agassizi .— Balss 1925: 209 (list).

Axius (Eiconaxius) agassizi .— Bouvier 1925: 458 –461, fig. 22, pl. 7 fig. 5, pl. 9, fig. 2.— De Man 1925: 4 (list), 17.

Eiconaxius agassizi .— Sakai & de Saint Laurent 1989: 20 –21.— Kensley 1996: 475 (list).— Felder et al. 2009: 1063 (records).— Sakai 2011: 272.— Komai & Tsuchida 2012: 37 (list).

Type material. Lectotype. Cuba, 4 miles off Morro Light , N of Havana, 23.2°N, 82.4°W, 1473 m (805 fm) (Blake stn 2), MCZ CRU-11966 (male).

Paralectotypes. Gulf of Mexico, Cuba, NW of Havana , 23.7°N, 83.2°W, 1574 m (Blake stn 41), MCZ CRU- 11948 (1) . Martinique, 919 m (502 fm) (Blake stn 95), MNHN IU-2014-12079 (Th173) (male) . Dominica, 15.3°N, 61.4°W, 992 m (Blake stn 190), MCZ CRU-11949 (ovigerous female) . Grenada, 12.1°N, 61.8°W, 533 m (Blake stn 260), MCZ CRU-11965 (male) . Grenada, 12.1°N, 61.8°W, 844 m (Blake stn 266), MCZ CRU-11964 (ovigerous female) . Barbados, 13.2°N, 59.8°W, 730 m (Blake stn 288), MCZ CRU-11950 (3), MNHN IU-12078 (Th174) (2 remain of 3 males, 2 females) .

Diagnosis. Rostrum twice as long as wide. Major cheliped merus lower margin with prominent tooth at midpoint, fixed finger about half as long as upper margin of palm, cutting edge with proximal blade ending in prominent sharp tooth; dactylus cutting edge with basal molar, notch at midpoint, and straight beyond. Minor cheliped palm upper margin significantly shorter than greatest width; distolateral margin with prominent triangular toothed lobe at base of dactylus.

Distribution. USA, Cuba, Mexico, Jamaica, Martinique, Dominica, Grenada, Barbados; Caribbean Sea; Straits of Florida; 183–1574 m depth.

Remarks. Most of Bouvier’s (1925) syntypic material can be accounted for in the MCZ; two lots were retained in the MNHN. Bouvier referred to two “exemplaires types” from Blake stn 2 on page 460 and to the “Type mâle” in the legend for plate 9. His account does not meet the conditions of ICZN Article 74.5 for lectotype designation. The illustrated male (MCZ CRU-11966) is here designated as the lectotype and is assumed to be the one remaining from this station in the MCZ.

Eiconaxius agassizi is notable for the narrow acute rostrum, median carina simply bifurcating on the gastric region, a strong notch on the dactylus of the major cheliped opposing a prominent tooth on the fixed finger, and a bifid distolateral tooth on the propodus of the minor cheliped. The species is distributed along the margins of the Caribbean Sea and into the Straits of Florida.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Eiconaxius agassizi Bouvier, 1905, paralectotype, IU-2014-12079. A, rostrum, anterior gastric region, dorsal view. B, major cheliped, lateral view. C, major cheliped, fingers, mesial view. D, minor cheliped, lateral view. E, minor cheliped, fingers, mesial view. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Distribution of four species of Eiconaxius throughout the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. E. agassizi (10 records); E. antillensis (7 records); E. borradailei (7 records); E. caribbaeus (25 records).