Themiste (Lagenopsis) minor minor (Ikeda)

Figs. 2 G, 3B

Dendrostoma minor Ikeda, 1904: 154 .

Themiste minor minor Cutler, 1994: 154 (for complete synonymy).

Material examined. One specimen (NMNS-5928-009), Shihmen (25°17.84' N, 121°34.23' E), Taipei County, northwestern Taiwan, lower intertidal sediment rocks, coll. P.-W. Hsueh, 4 November 2007; 11 specimens (NMNS-5928-010), Shihmen (25°17.84' N, 121°34.23' E), Taipei County, northwestern Taiwan, lower intertidal sediment rocks, coll. P.-W. Hsueh, 9 May 2008; 45 specimens (NMNS-5928-011), Shihmen (25°17.84' N, 121°34.23' E), Taipei County, northwestern Taiwan, lower intertidal sediment rocks, coll. P.-W. Hsueh, 10 May 2008.

Remarks. Themiste minor Ikeda and T. variospinosa Edmonds are the only two species in the subgenus Themiste (Lagenopsis) that have introvert hooks. The former species differs from the latter by the presence of posteriorly oriented hooks, and introvert hooks of the other species are orientated in all directions (Cutler & Cutler 1988: 746, fig. 3A, C; present study, Fig. 3 B). Cutler and Cutler (1988) divided T. minor into two subspecies T. minor minor and T. minor huttonii (Benham), with the latter having a relatively longer body length (trunk length reaching 55 mm vs. <20 mm), as well as more hooks and a longer hook-bearing region on the introvert (55–75 % vs. 25–35 %). Themiste minor huttonii is known only from Australia, New Zealand and the Chatham Islands in South Pacific Ocean, whereas T. minor minor ranges from across Japan, China, South Australia and southern Africa. Cutler and Cutler (1988) suggested that T. minor minor is a cooltemperate, intertidal and shallow subtidal form but our records show that it also occurs in subtropical waters.