Atergatopsis granulata, A. Milne-Edwards, 1865

Iwasa-Arai, Tammy, McCallum, Anna W. & Taylor, Joanne, 2015, Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve survey reveals new records of xanthid crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Xanthidae) from northern Australia, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 73, pp. 1-11 : 6

Atergatopsis granulata A. Milne-Edwards, 1865

( Figure 1F )

Atergatopsis granulatus A. Milne-Edwards, 1865: 255, pl 13, figs 2, 2b.— Kossmann, 1877: 22.— Cano, 1889 b: 190.— Nobili, 1906b:235.— Klunzinger, 1913: 156 (60).— Balss, 1935: 137; 1938: 55, pl. 3, fig.3.— Monod, 1938:122, fig. 14.— Buitendijk, 1960: 283.— Guinot, 1964: 14, fig. 2a, b; 1967c: 262; 1971: 1074.— Serène, 1968: 74.— Ribes, 1978: 126.— Serène, 1984: 143, fig 83, pl. 20b.

Not Atergatopsis granulatus .— Miers 1884 b: 529 = not Atergatopsis , according to Buitendijk (1960).

Not Atergatopsis granulatus .— Miers 1886: 123 = Atergatopsis tweediei Balss, 1938b , according to Buitendijk (1960).

Not Atergatopsis granulatus . —Balss, 1924 a: 6, fig. 1 = Banareia parvula (Krauss, 1843) .

Material examined. NMV J46929 , 1 female, Cb= 19.6 mm, Cl= 12.9 mm (acq. 10327) Survey SOL5650, Stn 016 BS004, 12°4.8'–12°4.8'S, 127°25.74–127°25.77, 45–46 m, Benthic sled, 17/09/2012 .

Colour in preservative. Carapace pale orange with a pair of dark orange spots anterior to 5L. Ambulatory legs same colour as carapace. Chelipeds pale orange with black fingers. Abdomen beige.

Remarks. While this is the first record of this species in Australian waters, the species has previously been recorded from across the Indian Ocean and as far as the South China Sea. It is very similar to Atergatopsis tweediei Balss, 1938 described from the Seychelles, South-East Asia, and Papua New Guinea. Both species have chelipeds with chisel-shaped fingers, and a single large subproximal tooth on the pollex. According to Serène (1984) the two species can be distinguished by the amount of granulation on the carapace. Atergatopsis tweediei is entirely smooth on most of its median carapace, with granules only on the anterolateral margins. While the carapace of A. granulata is entirely covered in granules, they are smaller and less numerous in the median and posterior parts. In our specimen, region 3M of the carapace is almost smooth but all other regions are granular.

Distribution. Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pakistan (Karachi), Aldabra, South China Sea and New Guinea ( Sèrene, 1984). Depth range: 26– 46 m.

Figures

Figure 1. A, Actaeodes mutatus Guinot 1976, female, 18.1 X 11.5 mm (NMV J46921); B, Paractaea rufopunctata plumosa Guinot, in Sakai, 1976, male, 29.1 X 19.7 mm (NMV J46922); C, Euxanthus sp., male, 8.12 X 5.83 mm (NMV J46923); D, Liomera edwardsi Kossmann, 1877, male, 9.37 X 5.83 mm (NMV J46927); E, Liomera margaritata, male, 16.3 X 9.8 mm (NMV J46928); F, Atergatopsis granulata A. Milne Edwards, 1865, female, 19.6 X 12.9 mm (NMV J46929); G, Atergatopsis alcocki, male, 32.4 X 22.4 mm (NMV J46930); H, Lophozozymus dodone (Herbst, 1801), male, 16.7 X 10.4mm (NMV J46931). Photos: T. Iwasa-Arai.