Anoplodactylus batangensis (Helfer, 1938)

Lucena, Rudá Amorim & Christoffersen, Martin Lindsey, 2018, Anoplodactylus (Pycnogonida: Phoxichilidiidae) from Brazil, new records and two new species, Turkish Journal of Zoology 42 (4), pp. 372-388 : 375

Anoplodactylus batangensis (Helfer, 1938)

For older synonyms and references, see Müller (1993: 220).

Anoplodactylus batangensis : Müller and Krapp, 2009: 88-90, figure 47; Lucena et al. 2015: 430-432, figures 1–5.

Material examined: Alagoas: ( UFPB.PYC–173) 2 ♂♂ and 1 f ♀, Pontal do Peba , intertial, 15 Jun. 2014, coll. R .A. Lucena, J. Prata and J.P. de Araújo . Paraíba: ( UFPB. PYC–150) 1 ♀, Coqueirinho, intertidal, 17 Apr. 2014, coll. R .A. Lucena; J. Prata and J.P. Araújo . Rio Grande do Norte: ( UFPB.PYC–144) 1 ♀, Tourinhos, 16 Jul. 2014, coll. R .A. Lucena and L.M. Falkenberg . Ceará: ( UFPB.PYC–135) 3 ♂♂ , Praia da Redonda, 09 Aug. 2014, coll. R .A. Lucena and J. Prata .

Diagnosis: Animal small. Segmentation incomplete, absent between segments 3 and 4. Chelae small with short fingers. Proboscis cone-shaped and curved upwards. Lateral processes with a rounded dorsal tubercle. Distal region of the 2 anterior lateral processes more expanded than the 2 posterior lateral processes. Legs short. Tube of cement gland narrow, formed by small transversal rings. Auxiliary claws very small or absent.

Distribution: Circumtropical. Brazil (Bahia, Alagoas, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará), Curaçao, Venezuela, Caribbean coast of Colombia, Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Panama, Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Belize, Gulf coast of Mexico, Barbados, Martinique, Guadalupe, Antigua, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Ilhas Cayman, Bahamas, USA (Flórida), Bermuda, Cameroon, Madagascar, Tanzania, Australia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sulu Sea, Tonga ( Müller, 1993; Arango, 2003; Müller and Krapp, 2009).

Depth: Up to 40 m deep.

Remarks: Easily recognized by the shape of the proboscis (styliform and directed upwards) and by the structure of the cement gland (formed by transversal rings) ( Child, 1996; Müller and Krapp, 2009). The first record for Brazil was given by Lucena et al. (2015), for the States of Pernambuco and Paraíba. Subsequently it was recorded for the coast of Bahia ( Lucena and Christoffersen, 2017), which is the most southern occurrence in the southern Atlantic. Here we provide the first references for the States of Alagoas, Rio Grande do Norte, and Ceará.