Nymphon molleri Clark, 1963

Arango, Claudia P., 2003, Sea spiders (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: new species, new records and ecological annotations, Journal of Natural History 37 (22), pp. 2723-2772 : 2739-2741

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930210158771
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5460402
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F10B8791-FF86-FFA1-2647-17EDF12F79EE
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Nymphon molleri Clark, 1963
status

Treatment

Nymphon molleri Clark, 1963 View in CoL

Nymphon molleri Clark, 1963: 10–12 View in CoL , figures 6a–h; Stock, 1968: 32, figure 10h; 1973a: 91; 1973b: 109, figure 3g.

Material examined. Goold Island , reef slope, 7 m, found in rubble, 18 April 2000, one W with eggs. Pandora Reef, in rubble fouled with algae and hydroids, 5 m, 15 July 1999, one X. Rib Reef, 19 April 2000, six W, eight X, seven juveniles ; Rib Reef , slope, 8 m, among turf algae, 16 April 2000, one W.

Description. Trunk length 3.5 mm, width 0.9 mm, fully segmented; long and narrow neck, broader anteriorly in the joint with chelifores; crurigers separated by almost three times their diameter; ocular tubercle tall, with two pointing tips; abdomen long, obliquely positioned pointing backwards. Proboscis cylindrical, short. Scape as long as proboscis, palm half the length of the scape; fingers longer than palm, 14 teeth on movable finger, 11 on immovable. Palps longer than proboscis, second segment the longest, fifth segment densely setose at tip. Fifth segment of ovigers with a crown of distal short setae; formula 14:11:9: 10 in females, 7:7:4: 4 in males, distal spine usually longer. Legs long, glabrous, second tibia longest segment followed by first tibia and femur. No heel or heel spines, auxiliaries almost as long as the main claw. Females larger and more robust, otherwise similar.

Distribution. An Australian species described from material collected in Port Jackson, it has not been reported from anywhere else so far. This is the most northern record and expands the habitat from temperate to tropical waters.

Remarks. These specimens fit the description and illustrations by Clark (1963) except for a difference in the formula of the ovigers of females and a longer neck in the type. The species seems abundant at Pandora Reef where several specimens were seen crawling over coral rubble and algae.