Ceradocus oxyodus Berents, 1983

Krapp-Schickel, Traudl, 2009, Maeridae, the Ceradocus group *, Zootaxa 2260 (1), pp. 598-642 : 604-607

Ceradocus oxyodus Berents, 1983

( Figs 5 , 6 )

Ceradocus oxyodus Berents, 1983: 104 , figs 3, 4. — Lowry & Stoddart, 2003: 175.

Material examined. 1 male, 7.5 mm (2 slides), AM P70991 ( QLD 1693 ) ; 3 adults, AM P70742 ( QLD 1645 ) ; 3 adults, AM P70757 ( QLD 1645 ) ; 1 adult, AM P71048 ( QLD 1706 ) ; 1 male, 2 juveniles, AM P71154 ( QLD 1732 ) .

Type locality. Casuarina Beach , Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia (14 o 40.5’S 145 o 26.6’E) .

Description. Based on male, 7.5 mm, AM P70991.

Head. Head subocular notch present. Antenna 1 peduncular article 2 longer article 1, accessory flagellum with up to 3 articles. Antenna 2 article 4 longer than article 5. Mandible palp article 1 distal acute prolongation, article 3 half length of article 2.

Pereon. Gnathopod 1 carpus subequal in length to propodus. Gnathopod 2 symmetrical; propodus length more than 1.8 x width, palm oblique, no excavation or incision except a shallow one near corner. Pereopod 7 basis posterior margin smooth, length equal to or greater than 1.8 x width.

Pleon. Pleonite 1 dorsally with medial gap and some lateral spines. Pleonite 2 with very small medial spine, and additional small lateral ones. Epimeron 1 posterior margin dorsally serrated, posteroventral margin unevenly incised, ventral margin smooth. Epimeron 2 posterior margin dorsally serrated, posteroventral margin uneven, with tiny incisions. Epimeron 3 dorsally serrated, posteroventral and ventral margins serrated. Uropod 3 with many robust setae, external ramus short, less than 4x width. Telson with lateral setae and with 2–3 subdistal long robust setae on each lobe.

Female (sexually dimorphic characters). Unknown.

Habitat. Coarse sand, sand with mixed brown algae, patchy seagrass or blue-green algae, coral rubble, silty coarse sediment or soft bottom, crinoids, Halimeda macroloba , Halimeda cylindracea, Caulerpa taxifolia, Gracilaria sp., Lobophora sp. , 3.5– 23 m.

Remarks. Symmetrical second gnathopods occur in the following seven species: Ceradocus breweri (Kunkel 1910) , C. cotonensis Appadoo & Myers 2006 , C. dooliba J.L. Barnard, 1972 , C. orchestiipes Costa 1853 , C. rubromaculatus ( Stimpson, 1856) , C. sellickensis Sheard, 1939 and C. sheardi Shoemaker 1948 , as well as in C. oxyodus . In C. rubromaculatus the telsonic setation is stronger than that of C. oxyodus . This nominal species, C. rubromaculatus , varies a lot in different descriptions while the characters in the original description are rather sparse. Several species may hide under this name. Ceradocus dooliba is a much larger species (up to 23 mm) with a different dorsal serration-pattern to that of C. oxyodus . Ceradocus cotonensis Appadoo & Myers, 2006 , described from Rodriguez in the Indian Ocean, matches C. oxyodus in many respects, but the dorsal armament of the urosome of C. cotonensis has not been described.

Distribution. Australia. Queensland: Lizard Island ( Berents 1983, current study).

Figures

FIGURE 5. Ceradocus oxyodus Berents, 1983, adult male, 7.5 mm, AM P70991, north of Bird Islet, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef.

FIGURE 6. Ceradocus oxyodus Berents, 1983, adult male, 7.5 mm, AM P70991, north of Bird Islet, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef.