Vibilia jeangerardi Lucas, 1845

Zeidler, Wolfgang, 2003, A review of the hyperiidean amphipod superfamily Vibilioidea Bowman and Gruner, 1973 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Hyperiidea), Zootaxa 280 (1), pp. 1-104 : 13-16

Vibilia jeangerardi Lucas ( Figs 1 & 2 )

Vibilia jeangerardi Lucas, 1846: 56 , pl. 5, fig. 4. — Bate 1862: 303, pl. 49, fig. 9. Marion 1874: 5– 11, pl. 1, 2, figs 1i. Carus 1885: 421–422. Bovallius 1887c: 47­49, pl. 7, figs 1–11. Chevreux 1900: 125–126, pl. 15, fig. 3. Vosseler 1901: 119. Behning 1913a: 533. Behning 1913b: 212, 214. Stewart 1913: 247–248. Stephensen 1918: 34­36, chart 4. Pesta 1920: 33, fig. 6a–c. Spandl 1924b: 263. Behning 1925. 480, figs 1–2. Chevreux & Fage 1925: 383–384, fig. 388. Chevreux 1927: 138. Pirlot 1929: 98­99. Chevreux 1935: 173–174. Evans 1961: 203. Madin & Harbison 1977: 453 (table), 455. Vinogradov et al. 1982: 202–203, fig. 101. Vinogradov 1999: 1179–1180, fig. 4.85.

? Vibilia speciosa Costa, 1853: 178 . — Bate 1862: 304. Carus 1885: 422 (as synonym of V. jeangerardi).

? Vibilia mediterranea Claus, 1872: 467 . — Claus 1880: 586.

Type material

The type of V. jeangerardi could not be found at the MNHN and is considered lost. Although the description and figures by Lucas (1846) are inadequate, the status of this, relatively common, Mediterranean species has been established by Marion (1874), Bovallius (1887c) and Chevreux (1900). The type locality is the Mediterranean Sea, harbour at Bône, Algeria.

Type material of synonyms

The type of V. speciosa could not be found in any major Italian Museum (see acknowledgments) and is considered lost. This species is most likely a synonym of V. jeangerardi based on Costa’s description, and the fact that it is a common Mediterranean species.

The type of V. mediterranea could not be found in any major European museum (see acknowledgments) and is considered lost. Claus merely lists this species as occurring in salps; there is no description or figures. Thus, it is a nomen nudum. It seems a synonym of V. jeangerardi , based solely on geographical grounds, and has been regarded as such, by subsequent authors. It has not been recognised as a valid species since Claus (1880).

Material examined (> 350 specimens)

Several lots from the Mediterranean and North Atlantic in the ZMUC (especially CRU 2855 ­2860; over 350 specimens) and ZMB (2 lots) .

Diagnosis

Body length up to 14 mm. Antennae 1 as long as head and first pereonite; flagellum oval, distal margin rounded. Gnathopod 2; carpal process about half­length propodus. Pereopods 3 & 4; dactylus relatively short, length about 0.2x propodus. Pereopods 5 & 6; dactylus length slightly more than 0.1x propodus. Pereopod 7; basis rectangular, width about 0.8x length, slightly longer than ischium to carpus combined, with slight rounded posterodistal lobe barely overlapping ischium. Lateral corners of last urosomite not produced. Uropod 3; peduncle distinctly longer than rami; sexual dimorphism of endopod not evident. Telson semi­circular, length almost half peduncle of U3.

Remarks

This species most closely resembles V. propinqua , and perhaps also V. gibbosa , but is readily distinguished by the relatively short dactylus of the pereopods, particularly pereopods 5 and 6, and by the rounded telson.

Vibilia jeangerardi is a well­known associate of Salpa maxima ( Marion 1874, Madin & Harbison 1977, Laval 1980).

The publication date for this species is not clear from the literature with some authors referring it to 1849, which is the date of the title page of the work, while others quote 1845 (e.g. Bovallius 1887c, Vinogradov et al. 1982). According to Sherborn and Woodward (1901) and Woodward (1904), that part of the work by Lucas describing V. jeangerardi was actually published in 1846.

Distribution

This species is most common in the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean but, has also been recorded from the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar ( Stephensen 1918).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Vibilia jeangerardi, Mediterranean, ZMUC CRU 2855. A, male, 9.0 mm, lateral view; B, female, 12.0 mm, lateral view of head; appendages from male. Scale bars = 1.0 mm (A, B), 0.5 mm (Us), 0.2 mm (remainder).

FIGURE 2. Vibilia jeangerardi, Mediterranean, ZMUC CRU 2855. Male, 9.0 mm. Scale bar = 0.5 mm.