Paractaea rufopunctata plumosa Guinot, 1969

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 : 2

Paractaea rufopunctata plumosa Guinot , in Sakai, 1976

( Figure 1B )

Paractaea rufopunctata forma plumosa Guinot, 1969: 248, fig. 21.

Paractaea rufopunctata plumosa Sakai, 1976 a: 450, fig. 240b, pl. 159, fig. 1..— Muraoka, 1998: 42.

Paractaea rufopunctata f. plumosa Serène, 1984: 121 (key), 122(key), pl. 16C.

Material examined. NMV J46922 , 1 male (Cb= 29.1 mm, Cl= 19.7 mm), northern Australia, Arafura Sea, Survey SS 2012t 07 Stn 08 (acq. 204), 11°13.32–13.38'S, 134°45.12–45.12'E, 27.7–27.9 m, benthic sled, 17 Oct 2012 ; NMV J54546 , 1 female (Cb= 27.2 mm, Cl= 18.1 mm), off Ningaloo North , SS10/2005 153, 21°59.17–59.79'S, 113°49.2–49.14'E, 165–166 m, beam trawl, 11 Dec 2005 ; NMV J61124 , 1 ovigerous female (Cb= 11.9 mm, Cl= 8.5 mm), 1 female (Cb= 13.1 mm, Cl= 9.1 mm) north-western Australia, SS05/2007 188, 12°26.7–26.96'S, 123°36.05–36.59'E, 95– 95 m, beam trawl, 6 July 2007 ; NMV J17772 , 2 females (Cb= 15.3–15.5 mm, Cl= 10.2–10.4 mm), Australia, Queensland, Tryon island ( Capricorn Group ) 23°14'S, 151°46'E, 1 m, Sep 1970 .

Colour in preservative. Carapace dark brown with orange lobes; medial lobe of subdivided 2M, top of 3M, 1P, and inside parts of 5L highlighted with dark orange granules. Ambulatory legs pale brown with patch of orange granules on the dorsomedial region of merus and propodus, beige ventrally. Chelipeds dark brown with orange and dark orange patches; fingers black. Abdomen beige with orange patches between segments.

Remarks. Guinot (1969) described a number of “formes” of this species but only a few are currently considered valid subspecies. The Arafura sea specimen most closely resembles the subspecies P. rufopunctata plumosa as the cardiac region is not subdivided into 2 parts, and the black colouration of the fixed finger of the male chelipeds extends onto the palm ( Guinot, 1976; Serene 1984). Specimens from Western Australia reported as Paractea rufopunctata (see Poore et. al. 2008) also fit the description of P. rufopunctata plumosa .

Distribution. Indo-Pacific Oceans including northern Australia ( Guinot, 1976; Sakai, 1976; Serène, 1984). Depth range: shallow waters– 130 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.