Seba cf. tropica McKinney, 1980

Figs 6, 22 D

Seba A: McKinney 1977: 200–203, pls 47, 48.

Seba tropica McKinney, 1980: 99–102, figs 8, 9; LeCroy 2011: 100, fig. 13.

Caribseba tropica: Shaw 1989: 1885.

Seba n. sp.: Oliva-Rivera and Jiménez-Cueto 1992: 182.

Material examined.

Panama • 1.5 mm • 1 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Crawl Caye; 9.2505°N; 82.1316°W; depth 10 m; among coral rubble and red sponges; 7 Aug 2005; S. DeGrave and M. Salazar leg.; GCRL 6674 .

Diagnosis.

Antenna 1 sparsely setose; peduncle article length ratios: 1: 1.1: 0.4; accessory flagellum lacking. Gnathopod 1 chelate; propodus palm transverse; dactylus proximal margin smooth. Gnathopod 2 article 5 0.7 × length of article 6 (measured to distal end). Pereopod 7 basis posterior margin with distoventral lobe. Epimeron 3 posteroventral corner acute, produced.

Distribution.

USA: Biscayne Bay, Florida to the Florida Keys (Thomas 1993), Port Isabel, Texas (McKinney 1980); Mexico: Yucatan Peninsula (McKinney 1980; Oliva-Rivera and Jiménez-Cueto 1992 as Seba n. sp.); Belize: Carrie Bow Caye (Thomas 1993); Venezuela: Cayo Boca Seca (Martín 2001); Panama: Bocas del Toro (present study).

Ecology and remarks.

This species occurs among coral rubble, Thalassia, and red sponges at depths to 12 m. Only one small specimen of this species was collected in 2005. This specimen nearly matches the original description of Seba tropica but differs in the following characters: antenna 1 setose (vs unarmed) and peduncle article length ratios: 1: 1.1: 0.4 (vs 1: 1.4: 0.5). Seba tropica is the only described species of Seba without an accessory flagellum. This specimen may represent a new species, but this will need to be confirmed with more specimens. Thomas (1993) reports that living specimens are ivory in color.