Paraspongicola de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981

Saito, Tomomi & Komai, Tomoyuki, 2008, A review of species of the genera Spongicola de Haan, 1844 and Paraspongicola de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Stenopodidea, Spongicolidae), Zoosystema 30 (1), pp. 87-147 : 130-131

Genus Paraspongicola de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981

Paraspongicola de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981: 181 . — Holthuis 1993: 310.

TYPE SPECIES. — Paraspongicola pusillus de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981 , by original designation.

GENDER. — Masculine.

DIAGNOSIS. — Rostrum short, straight, directed forward. Carapace with postrostral submedian spines; antennal spine small; anterolateral spines forming obliquely vertical row. Sixth pleonal somite usually with lateral spine(s). Telson broadly triangular. Cornea globular, well developed, darkly pigmented, distinctly faceted; eyestalk with small spines. Mouthparts similar to those of Spongicola ( Fig. 2 ). Ventrodistal margin of carpus of third maxilliped markedly produced; ischium with row of spines on dorsolateral margin; exopod well developed, flagellum-like. First pereopod with well developed grooming apparatus. Second pereopod of males more robust than that of females; unarmed or armed with small spines. Third pereopod more robust than that of second, but its length occasionally subequal; palm serrated on dorsal and ventral margins. Dactyli of fourth and fifth pereopods triunguiculate with prominent accessory spine on ventral margin at base of ventral unguis; carpi and propodi sometimes subdivided. Lateral margins of uropodal exopod and endopod serrated; endopod often with 1 subproximal spine on middorsal carina. Armature on carapace, telson, thoracic appendages and uropods relatively stronger in Paraspongicola than in Spongicola . Branchial formula identical with that of Spongicola ( Table 1). Eggs numerous and small, diameter 0.6-1.0 mm ( Table 5).

SPECIES INCLUDED. — Paraspongicola inflatus (de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981) n. comb.; and P. pusillus de Saint Laurent & Cleva, 1981 .

DISTRIBUTION. — Tropical and warm temperate regions in the Indo-West Pacific; 120-493 m.

SEXUAL DIMORPHISM

As in other spongicolid species, the two species of the genus exhibit sexual dimorphism in general body shape (more stout and depressed in females than in males), strength of armature on the carapace, pleonal pleura and appendages (spines or teeth are larger in males than in females), lengths and thickness of the pereopods (longer and more robust in males than in females), shape and structure of the pleopods (much more compressed laterally and broader in females than in males), and widths of the pleon and the thoracic sternum (wider in spawning females than in males).

REMARKS

The presence or absence of exopods on the first to third maxillipeds is generally considered to be of great importance in the generic classification in the family Spongicolidae (de Saint Laurent & Cleva 1981; Holthuis 1993; Saito & Takeda 2003; Komai & Saito 2006). Paraspongicola is characterized by the possession of a well developed, flagellum-like exopod on the third maxilliped (de Saint Laurent & Cleva 1981). De Saint Laurent & Cleva (1981) assigned their new species Spongicola inflatus to Spongicola because of the similarity in the armature of the carapace to species of Spongicola , although the authors noticed that the species has a well developed exopod on the third maxilliped. During the present study, we found that S. inflatus is allied to P. pusillus , the type species of Paraspongicola , in the frequent presence of the lateral spines on the sixth pleonal somite, the produced ventrodistal angle of the carpus of the third maxilliped, the second pereopod being occasionally subequal in the length to the third pereopod, and the triunguiculate dactyli of the fourth and fifth pereopods, as well as the development of the exopod of the third maxilliped. Saito & Takeda (2003) suggested S. inflatus and P. pusillus are sister taxa at a clade of their phylogenetic analysis. Therefore, we propose to transfer S. inflatus to Paraspongicola .

Figures

FIG. 2.— Spongicola venustus de Haan,1844,♀ 6.8 mm,Ushibuka,western Kyushu,Japan (CBM-ZC 977),left mouth parts:A, mandible, outer view; B, same, mesial view (basal article of palp hidden); C, maxillule, outer view; inset, endopod, lateral view; D, maxilla, outer view; E, first maxilliped, outer view; F, second maxilliped,outer view; G, same, coxa, basis and ischium, inner view;H, coxa and basis of third maxilliped, lateral view (arrow indicates exopod).