Ethusa magnipalmata Chen, 1993

Castro, Peter, 2005, Crabs of the subfamily Ethusinae Guinot, 1977 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Dorippidae) of the Indo-West Pacific region, Zoosystema 27 (3), pp. 499-600 : 540

Ethusa magnipalmata Chen, 1993

Ethusa magnipalmata Chen, 1993: 318 (key), 325, fig. 7.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: cl 12. 4 mm, cw 11.6 mm, BIOGEOCAL, stn DW 289 ( MNHN- B 21594).

TYPE LOCALITY. — Loyalty Islands, 20°36.35’S, 167°00.31’E, 830- 840 m.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Loyalty Islands. BIOGEO- CAL, stn DW 289, 20°36.35’S, 167°00.31’E, 830- 840 m, 27.IV.1987, 1 holotype ( MNHN-B 21594).

DISTRIBUTION. — Known only from the Loyalty Is. Depth: 830-840 m ( Fig. 34 ).

SIZE. — Maximum size: cl 12.4 mm, cw 11.6 mm (MNHN-B 21594), unknown.

REMARKS

Ethusa magnipalmata is thus far known only from the male holotype (MNHN-B 21594). It is almost undistinguishable from Ethusa orientalis Miers, 1886 , except for the morphology of its G1. Each pleopod has a large notch on the distal third of its length and a pointed, knife-like tip ( Chen 1993: fig. 7e). The notch, however, most probably resulted from the insertion of the G2. The relatively large overall size of the holotype is evidence that the specimen is not the juvenile stage of another species. The anterior border of the endostome reaches the proximal border of the antennular fossae of the basal antennular articles. The holotype was collected from the Loyalty Is, a location where E. orientalis is known to occur (see Remarks of E. orientalis above).

Figures

FIG. 34. — Bathymetric distribution of Indo-West Pacific ethusine crabs.