Birubius batei ( Haswell, 1879 )

Taylor, Joanne, 2009, Phoxocephalidae *, Zootaxa 2260 (1), pp. 800-827 : 804-807

Birubius batei ( Haswell, 1879)

( Figs 3 , 4 )

Phoxus batei Haswell, 1879: 259 , pl. 9, fig. 3.

Birubius batei ? –– Barnard & Drummond, 1978: 312, figs. 152-155. –– Lowry & Stoddart, 2003: 226.

Pontharpinia rostrata . ––Stebbing, 1906: 146 [in part]. ––Stebbing, 1910: 635.

Type material. Neotype, female “f”, 5.39 mm, AM P26125, off Towra Beach , Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia (34°00’S 151°10’E), sand, 2.7 m, 11 April 1973, ( EBS 200 ), [Herein selected].

Material examined. 2 females, NMV J55299 and AM P77836 ( JDT /LIZ-19) ; 3 males, AM P56148 ( Lizard Island ) ; 1 female, 2 males AM P77837 ( QLD 20 ) ; 1 female, 1 male, AM P54642 ( QLD 21 ) ; 2 females, AM P77838 ( QLD 33 ) ; 1 male, AM P54647 ( QLD 45 ) ; 5 females, AM P77839 ( QLD 54 ) ; 1 male, AM P54652 ( QLD 55 ) ; 20 females, 5 males, AM P54653 ( QLD 56 ) ; 4 females, 3 males, AM P54655 ( QLD 63 ) .

Type locality. Towra Beach , Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia .

Description. Based on female, 3.5 mm, NMV J55299 .

Head. Rostrum unconstricted; eyes present (red pigmented in preserved specimens). Antenna 1 peduncle article 2 with midventral setae. Antenna 2 peduncle article 4 facial robust setae not in a single row, dorsal setae present; article 5 midfacial robust setae present as two sets of 2; flagellum multiarticulate. Mandible molar simple, form D, right with 5 spines, right lacinia mobilis bifid, distal branch simple, pointed. Maxilla 1 inner plate unknown; outer plate with 1 robust seta enlarged; palp biarticulate.

Pereon. Coxae 1–3 with long ventral setae present posteroventrally but absent from coxa 4, main ventral setae of coxae 1–4 = 5–5–5–0. Coxa 1 expanded distally. Gnathopods similar, palms oblique. Pereopods 3–4 carpus with 2 posteroproximal robust setae, propodus lacking slender setae. Pereopod 5 basis not tapering distally, without facial ridge. Pereopod 6 basis with 2 facial ridges. Pereopod 7 basis with few long ventral setae, with 2 facial ridges.

Pleon. Epimeron 1 anteroventral margin with 3 setae, posteroventral face with 2 long setae, set vertically. Epimeron 2 with 6 facial setae, crowded anteriorly. Epimeron 3 facial setae absent, with 7 long posterior setae, without ventral setae. Uropod 1, peduncle basofacial setae present, without major displaced robust setae (special enlarged spine), with 1 apicolateral spine; inner ramus with 2 dorsal spines, without subapical accessory robust seta; outer ramus not continuously spinose to apex. Uropods 1–2 rami with well developed apical nails. Uropod 3 outer ramus article 2 with 2 apical setae.

Habitat. Soft bottom, nocturnal swimming males, 0–60 m depth.

Remarks. The original description and illustrations by Haswell (1879) of material from Port Jackson were not detailed. Barnard & Drummond (1978) noted that material registered in the AM as Haswell's original type material of Phoxus batei is “confounded” and “clearly not what Haswell described and illustrated”. They thus designated a "Main Voucher" from material from nearby Botany Bay that they called “ Birubius batei ? ”, “until such time that a review of the fauna of Port Jackson is undertaken” to see if B. batei and a similar species B. jirrandus cohabit the region. No such survey has been undertaken, nor is likely in the foreseeable future, and Barnard’s hesitation to designate this "Main Voucher" specimen as a ‘neotype’ has resulted in 30 years of confusion over the applicability of the species name. The discovery of specimens from Lizard Island that closely resemble Barnard’s "Main Voucher" has prompted me to designate the "Main Voucher" female "f" illustrated and described in great detail by Barnard & Drummond (1978) as the neotype of Phoxus batei Haswell.

Birubius batei can be diagnosed by the combination of the following traits; right lacinia mobilis bifid, distal branch simple; long ventral setae present on coxae 1–3 but absent from coxa 4; pereopods 3–4 carpus with 2 posteroproximal robust setae.

The material examined from Lizard Island fits the description and illustrations of the "Main Voucher" female "f", although has fewer basofacial setae on basis of uropod 1. It can be distinguished from other species of the genus from the GBR by the unconstricted rostrum, presence of 2 posteroproximal robust setae on the carpus of pereopods 3–4, and a lack of ventral and facial setae on epimeron 3. The eyes are pigmented red in preserved specimens (see remarks for B. casuarina sp. nov.). These specimens reconfirm the presence of the species in the Great Barrier Reef.

Distribution. Australia. Queensland: off Lizard Head peninsula, Lizard Island. New South Wales: Botany Bay, Lake Macquarie and Jervis Bay (current study). Western Australia: Barrow Island and Middleton Beach, near Albany ( Barnard & Drummond, 1978).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Birubius batei (Haswell, 1879), female, 3.5 mm, NMV J55299, off Lizard Head, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef.

FIGURE 4. Birubius batei (Haswell, 1879), female, 3.5 mm, NMV J55299, off Lizard Head, Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef.