Eiconaxius borradailei Bouvier, 1905

Poore, Gary C. B., 2018, Caribbean species of Eiconaxius (Decapoda: Axiidea: Axiidae), Zootaxa 4524 (1), pp. 139-146 : 141-142

Eiconaxius borradailei Bouvier, 1905

( Figs 2 , 4 )

Eiconaxius borradailei Bouvier, 1905: 803 .

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

Axius (Eiconaxius) borradailei .— Bouvier 1925: 465 –466, pl. 7 figs 7, 8, pl. 9 fig. 4.— De Man 1925: 4 (list), 17.

Eiconaxius borradailei .— Sakai & de Saint Laurent 1989: 21.— Kensley 1996: 475 (list).— Felder et al. 2009: 1063 (records).— Sakai 2011: 275.— Komai & Tsuchida 2012: 37 (list).

Type material. Lectotype. Cuba, off Havana, 23.2°N, 82.3°W, 324 m (Blake stn?57), MCZ CRU-11959 (female).

Paralectotypes. Barbados, 15.9°N, 61.6°W, 275 m (Blake stn 166), MNHN IU-2014-12076 (Th176) (1 male, 1 female – not 2 females) . Barbados, 13.1°N, 59.6°W, 194 m (Blake stn 277), MCZ CRU-11960 (female), IU-2014- 12077 (Th175) (male) . Barbados, 13.0°N, 59.6°W, 225 m (Blake stn 297), MCZ CRU-11969 (female) .

Non-type material. Guadeloupe. KARUBENTHOS 2015 stations. N of Grande-Terre , 16°42'N, 61°36'W, 618–627 m (stn DW4540 ), IU- 2016-2470 (1 male, 4.3 mm) . W of Marie-Galante , 15°48'N, 61°26'W, 304–310 m (stn DW4634 ), IU- 2016-2570 (7 females, 3.4–4.2), IU- 2016-2892 (2 males, 2.9, 4.3 mm; 6 females, 3.3–4.5 mm; 2 ovigerous females, 4.5 mm), ( NMV J71656 (1 male, 1 female, 4.3 mm). 15°51'N, 61°26'W, 262 m (stn CP4636), IU- 2016-2622 (1 male, 4.2 mm).

Diagnosis. Rostrum tapering more over distal third than proximal, with rounded apex in adult (acute in juvenile), 1.2–1.3 times as long as wide. Sublateral gastric carinae present, diverging widely from base of median carina. Major cheliped merus lower margin with single denticle. Major cheliped palm upper margin distally bicarinate, ending in 2 blunt teeth; fixed finger about half as long as upper margin of palm, cutting edge with 2 blunt teeth (overlapping); dactylus cutting edge with basal molar, notch proximal to midpoint, and concave beyond. Minor cheliped palm distolateral margin with sharp spine at base of dactylus (small); fixed finger cutting edge with sharp tooth near base. Pereopods 3 and 4 dactyli ovate, with row of marginal plus up to 3 facial rows of spiniform setae. Male pleopod 1 present, simple.

Distribution. Cuba, Guadeloupe, Barbados; Caribbean Sea; 194–627 m depth.

Remarks. Bouvier referred to a “femelle Type” in the legend for plate 9, almost certainly the female remaining in the MCZ from what is probably Blake stn 57 (the first listed but not numbered in Bouvier’s list of material. Again, his account does not meet the conditions of ICZN Article 74.5 for lectotype designation. The illustrated female (MCZ CRU-11959) is here designated the lectotype. The incomplete female from Blake stn 259 (227 m, Milligan’s Key) is lost.

Eiconaxius borradailei is notable for the upper margin of the propodus of the large cheliped uniquely ending in two short ridges and blunt teeth. This was vaguely shown in Bouvier’s (1925) figure 4 but he made no mention of it. Nor did he mention the sharp tooth at the base of the dactylus of the minor cheliped. Most records of this species are on the eastern margin of the Caribbean Sea but the type locality is isolated at the northwestern limit.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Eiconaxius borradailei Bouvier, 1905, paralectotype, IU-2014-12076. A, rostrum, anterior gastric region, dorsal view. B, major cheliped, lateral view. C, major cheliped, fingers, mesial view. D, minor cheliped fingers, lateral view. E, minor cheliped fingers, mesial view. Paralectotype, IU-2014-12077, F, rostrum, anterior gastric region, dorsal view. G, minor cheliped fingers, lateral view. H, minor cheliped, 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).