Munidopsis acutispina Benedict, 1902

Macpherson, Enrique & Segonzac, Michel, 2005, Species of the genus Munidopsis (Crustacea, Decapoda, Galatheidae) from the deep Atlantic Ocean, including cold-seep and hydrothermal vent areas, Zootaxa 1095 (1), pp. 1-60 : 9-11

Munidopsis acutispina Benedict, 1902

Munidopsis aculeata A. Milne­Edwards & Bouvier, 1894: 275 ; 1899: 82, 97; 1900:327, pl. 31: figs 1–4) (not M. aculeata Henderson, 1888 ).

Munidopsis acutispina Benedict, 1902: 315 .— Doflein & Balss, 1913: 177 (list).— d’Udekem d’Acoz, 1999: 166.— Froglia et al., 2002: 376, figs 1, 2.

Material examined. Mediterranean Sea , MEDINAUT, Stn MN12 ­ BT3, 35º20’N, 30º16.30’E, 2030 m, 05.12.1998: 1 ovig. female 7.7 mm. NE Atlantic, SEAMOUNT 2, Stn DW158, 29°45.05’N, 29°44.93’W, 950 m, 12.01.1993: 1 female 3.6 mm. NE Atlantic, AMK 47, Stn 4368, MAR , Lost City vent area, 30°07'N, 42°07'W, 830 m, 04.07.2002, 1 male 8.0 mm. Off Mauritania, TALISMAN, 25º39’N, 18º18’W, 698 m, 09.07.1883: 1 male 7.8 mm (holotype, MNHN) .

Remarks. This species was redescribed and figured by Froglia et al. (2002) from specimens collected in the Mediterranean Sea. The specimens examined here agree quite well with the types (MNHN; see also Froglia et al. 2002). Munidopsis acutispina is very close to M. penescabra Pequegnat & Williams, 1995 , from the Caribbean Sea, and a careful comparison of the type material of both species is desirable in order to clarify their taxonomic status. Munidopsis acutispina is characterized by the carapace being convex from side to side, with numerous pointed tubercles, the rostrum narrow triangular, its basal width less than one­third the anterior width of the carapace, the frontal margin convex, the antennal spine small, segments 2 and 3 of the abdomen unarmed, the cornea well exposed and visible in dorsal view, the eye spine mesial and small, the walking legs not reaching the end of chelipeds, the propodi of walking legs of uniform width, with distinct spines, and no epipods on the pereiopods.

Distribution and habitat. Previously known from off the western Sahara (type locality) and the Azores Islands, between 698 and 845 m (A. Milne­Edwards & Bouvier 1894, 1899, 1900), and from the Mediterranean Sea (W Tyrhenian Sea, Sardinia) between 374 and 1036 m ( Froglia et al. 2002). The present material was collected between 830 and 2030 m. Munidopsis acutispina occurs in both hydrothermal (Lost City, central Atlantic Ocean; Gebruk et al. 2002) and cold seep areas (Kazan mud volcano, eastern Mediterranean Sea; Olu­Le Roy et al. 2004).