Santia urospinosa, Kensley & Schotte, 2002

Kensley, B & Schotte, M, 2002, New species and records of Asellota from the Indian Ocean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda), Journal of Natural History 36, pp. 1421-1461 : 1441-1443

Santia urospinosa sp. nov.

(gure 12)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: USNM 253304 , 1.5 mm, sta K-AL-50, purple sponge on outer reef slope, Picard Island , Aldabra, 9ss24¾S, 46ss12¾E, 25 m, 15 April 1983 . PARATYPES: USNM 253305 , four ovigerous, ve, eight juveniles, same data as holotype .

Other material. USNM 253306 , three, seven ovigerous, three, from coarse sand and rubble from ve stations oV Picard Island , Aldabra, 1–26 m ; USNM 253307 , nine ovigerous, eight, one juvenile, coral rubble and algal turf from seven stations on Mahé Island, Seychelles, 1–6 m ; ZMUC, one, 16 ovigerous, three, sta CRU-1904, intertidal reef at, Bawe Island , Zanzibar, 6ss08¾S, 39ss08¾E, 26 September 1995 .

Diagnosis. Cephalon and pereonite lacking stiV setae or armature. Maxilliped with three coupling hooks. Pereopod 1, merus with single strong anterodistal seta, carpus with two strong posterodistal setae, propodus barely in ated, with three strong posterodistal setae. Coxae visible on pereonites 2–7 in dorsal view. Pleon length 1.8 times basal width, lateral margins unarmed, posterior margin between uropodal bases broadly convex. Uropodal protopod having two distal setae; exopod with three distal setae; endopod with ve or six distal setae. Each lobe of pleopod 1 of male having three distal setae.

Remarks. The only species of Santia known from the Indian Ocean are S. uncinata (VanhöVen, 1914) from False Bay, South Africa, and S. marmorata (VanhöVen, 1914) from St Paul Island. The lateral pleonal spines of the former species easily separate it from the two species described here. The latter species is dorsally unarmed, and possesses relatively small non-spinose uropods which are very diVerent from those of S. spicata or S. urospinosa . Santia hispida (VanhöVen, 1914) from the Antarctic is a spinose species bearing a super cial resemblance to S. spicata , but has far more, smaller stiV setae than seen in the tropical species.

Etymology. The speci c name refers to the prominent setae present on the uropods.