Iridopagurus margaritensis García-Gómez, 1983

(Fig. 9 A–F)

Spiropagurus dispar .— Provenzano 1961: 165 [in part].

Iridopagurus margaritensis García-Gómez, 1983: 28, figs. 1, 2.

Trindade and Martin Vaz specimens. 1 male sl 1.8 mm (MZUSP 36180), Brazil, Espírito Santo, Martin Vaz, stn 32/ DC 52, 20°29’S, 28°51’W, M. Tavares coll., 20.v.1987, dredge, 64–80 m ; 1 male sl 1.8 mm , 1 ovigerous female sl 1.9 mm (MZUSP 31877), Brazil, Espírito Santo, Trindade Island, stn 36/ DC 61, 20°29’S, 29°18’W, M. Tavares coll., 22.v.1987, dredge, 63 m .

Comparative material examined. Iridopagurus margaritensis: holotype, male sl 2.1 mm (USNM 189363), Venezuela, 17 miles north of Isla Margarita, “ Pillsbury ” stn 718, 11°22.5’N, 64°08.6’W ; 1 male sl 2.8 mm (MZUSP 36739), Brazil, Bahia, Abrolhos Bank, Revizee Central II, S/V “ Astro Garoupa ”, stn 16C, 18°04’21”S, 37°19’39”W, 23.xi.1997, 82 m.

Iridopagurus violaceus de Saint Laurent-Dechancé, 1966: 1 male (MZUSP 7217), Brazil, Maranhão, R/V “Almirante Saldanha”, stn 1732, 02°15’S, 41°51’W, 30.x.1967, 52 m.

Type locality. 17 miles north of Isla Margarita, 11°22.5’N, 64°08.6’W, Venezuela.

Distribution. Caribbean coast of Honduras; Cay Sal Bank, southeast Bahamas through the Hispaniola; Lesser Antilles; Caribbean coast of South America (Colombia and Venezuela); off French Guiana; and Brazil (Abrolhos Bank and Trindade and Martin Vaz, present study). Depth range: 11– 91 m.

Remarks. The specimens from Abrolhos and Trindade and Martin Vaz (Fig. 9 A–F) are herein attributed to I. margaritensis on the account of the cheliped palm with 1 or 2 rows of short spines on the middorsal line and dorsomesial and dorsolateral margins, ambulatory leg dactyli with 2–5 corneous spines on the ventromesial face, anterior lobes of the P3 sternite subsemicircular, and P4 and P5 sternites with stiff setae (in males and large females) (García-Gómez 1983). However, the Brazilian specimens differ from those from northern localities in having the ocular peduncles approximately half the length of the shield (Fig. 9A) (vs. ocular peduncle approximately two-thirds to three-fourths of the length of the shield in the northern specimens), and in having a row of small spines proximally on the right cheliped dactylus dorsal surface (Fig. 9C) (vs. row of small spines lacking in the representatives from northern localities). In the absence of more specimens from Brazil, we tentatively interpreted the differences between the southern and northern specimens as variations only and, therefore, assigned the specimens from Abrolhos and TMV to I. margaritensis .

Iridopagurus margaritensis was previously known from the Caribbean Sea and north coast of South America (off French Guiana). The present record from TMV and Abrolhos are the first from Brazilian waters, thus extending considerably the range of this species by many thousands of km to the south, from 6°N to 20°S.