Latreutes mucronatus ( Stimpson, 1860 )

Al-Kandari, Manal, Anker, Arthur, Hussain, Sumaiah, Al-Yassen, Sharifa, Sattari, Zainab & Grave, Sammy De, 2020, New records of decapod crustaceans from Kuwait (Malacostraca: Decapoda), Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 251-280 : 260-262

Latreutes mucronatus ( Stimpson, 1860)

( Fig. 6 )

Latreutes mucronatus Stimpson, 1860: 27 ; Hayashi & Miyake 1968: 16, figs. 3a–b, 4; Ledoyer 1969: 365, pl. 6, figs. 1A–11A; Ghani & Tirmizi 1991: 320, figs. 1–5; De Grave 2007: 147.

Material examined. Kuwait: 4 ov. females, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.025, Failaka Island , 29°23.409’N 48°23.927’E, intertidal, under rocks and amongst seaweeds, leg. S. De Grave & Z. Sattari, 03.x.2019 [fcn KUW-055] .

General distribution. Indo-West Pacific, from the western and northern Indian Ocean ( Madagascar, Arabian Gulf, Pakistan, etc.) to Japan; within the Arabian Gulf previously recorded only from the UAE ( De Grave 2007) and now Kuwait (present study).

Ecology. Intertidal to shallow subtidal; typically in seaweed and seagrass beds, but also reported as an associate of jellyfishes (Scyphozoa) ( Hayashi & Miyake 1968).

Remarks. All Kuwaiti specimens harbour three post-orbital teeth, which is in accordance with material from Madagascar ( Ledoyer 1969) and Pakistan ( Ghani & Tirmizi 1991), contrasting to specimens from elsewhere in the species’ geographical range. This fact, together with disparity in ecological data (seaweed or seagrass vs. jellyfish symbiosis), may imply that L. mucronatus could be a species complex. The colour pattern of this species appears to be extremely variable, apparently due to camouflage / background matching ( Fig. 6 ).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Latreutes mucronatus (Stimpson, 1860):A, B, C—three ovigerous females from Failaka Island, Kuwait (OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.025), lateral view. Photographs by A. Anker.