Munidopsis sinclairi McArdle, 1901

Published, First, 2007, Species of the genus Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1784 from the Indian and Pacific Oceans and reestablishment of the genus Galacantha A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Galatheidae), Zootaxa 1417, pp. 1-135 : 98-100

Munidopsis sinclairi McArdle, 1901

( Fig. 45)

Munidopsis (Elasmonotus) Sinclairi McArdle, 1901: 524 .

Munidopsis sinclairi .— Baba, 2005: 295 (synonymy and list of occurrences)

Material examined. Madagascar (A. Crosnier collection), Stn CH 49, 500– 550 m: 1 M 11.5 mm, 1 F 11.3 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn CH 103, 880– 920 m: 1 M 8.9 mm, 1 ovig. F 6.9 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn CH 109, 1200 m: 1 ovig. F 9.0 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn CH 113, 990– 1000 m: 1 M 10.0 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 126, 1715– 1750 m: 1 M 10.5 mm, 1 ovig. F 11.5 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn CH 131, 1490– 1640 m: 3 M 9.1–9.7 mm, 4 ovig. F 9.0– 11.8 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn CH 133, 1000–1525 m: 6 M 7.9–12.3 mm, 1 ovig. F 11.7 mm ( MNHN) . — Stn CH 141, 1000–1725 m: 1 ovig. F 11.2 mm ( MNHN) . Philippines, MUSORSTOM 2, Stn 50, 810– 820 m: 2 ovig. F 7.4– 7.9 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 81, 856– 884 m: 1 M 10.0 mm ( MNHN) . Indonesia, Makassar Strait , CORINDON 2, Stn 231, 980– 1080 m: 2 M 8.8–9.7 mm, 2 ovig. F 9.2–11.6 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 280, 715– 800 m: 1 ovig. F 8.1 mm ( MNHN) . Indonesia, Kei Islands , KARUBAR, Stn 53, 1026– 1053 m: 1 M 9.2 mm ( MNHN) . — Stn 87, 1017– 1024 m: 1 ovig. F 10.5 mm ( MNHN) . Solomon Islands, SALOMON 1, Stn 1754, 1169– 1203 m: 2 M 10.0– 11.8 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 1764, 1327– 1598 m: 2 M 9.4–10.7 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 1807, 1077– 1135 m: 2 M 8.0– 8.8 mm, 3 ovig. F 8.1–11.4 mm ( MNHN). SALOMON 2 , Stn 2182, 762– 1060 m: 1 ovig. F 10.4 mm, 1 F 7.9 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 2217, 1045– 1118 m: 3 ovig. F 8.0– 11.5 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 2218, 582– 864 m: 1 M 9.1 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 2253, 1200–1218 m: 1 M 4.0 mm ( MNHN) . New Caledonia, BATHUS 2, Stn 751, 1300–1500 m: 1 ovig. F 10.9 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 767, 1060 m: 1 M 13.3 mm, 2 ovig. F 8.5–12.2 mm ( MNHN) . Vanuatu, MUSORSTOM 8, Stn 990, 980– 990 m: 1 F 9.7 mm ( MNHN) .— Stn 1076, 1100–1191 m: 1 M 7.8 mm, 1 ovig. F 8.8 mm ( MNHN) .

Description. Carapace longer than wide, dorsal surface unarmed, with numerous short striae and rugae having short setae. Gastric region convex, distinctly circumscribed, with numerous rippled rugae. Cardiac region depressed in front of elevated transverse ridge. Posterior transverse ridge slightly elevated, uninterrupted and unarmed. Rostrum narrowly triangular, about half as long as remaining carapace, maximum width

0.3 times carapace breadth, convex dorsally, upturned distally, lateral margins cristate, finely serrated. Front margin unarmed, different in level in mesial and lateral halves of width, mesial half margin oblique, lateral half transverse, depressed below level of mesial half, anterolateral angle rounded; lateral margins subparallel, not cristate, with notch at end of anterior branch of cervical groove.

Sternum clearly longer than wide, maximum width at sternites 6 and 7. Sternites feebly granulated; sternite 3 with 2 anterior lobes, separated by notch, 2.5 times as wide as long; sternite 4 narrow anteriorly, maximum width nearly 2.5 times that of sternite 3, lateral margins concave.

Abdominal segments unarmed, segments 2–4 each with sharply elevated anterior ridge and narrow transverse groove; posterolateral lobes of segment 6 distinct but not overreaching transverse posteromedian mar- gin. Telson divided into 12 or 13 plates, posterior plates combined 1.5 times as wide as long.

Eye small, unarmed, falling short of midlength of rostrum; ocular peduncle movable; cornea moderately small, subglobular, as long as remaining eyestalk. Acute spine ventral to front margin between ocular and antennal peduncles.

Basal antennule with denticulated distomesial process, strong distolateral and distodorsal spines.

Antennal peduncle having basal article with blunt distomesial and distolateral processes; articles 2–3 with small distolateral spine.

Mxp 3 merus with 2 strong spines and a few small ones on flexor margin, extensor margin with distal spine.

P1 with numerous short setose striae, nearly spineless, twice carapace length; merus twice length of carpus, with small distolateral spine; carpus twice longer than wide, and shorter than palm; palm slightly longer than fingers, fixed finger without denticulate carina on distolateral margin.

P2–4 setose, relatively slender, 3 distal articles subcylindrical; meri triangular in cross section, decreasing in size posteriorly, dorsal margin feebly carinate, ventral margin granulated. P2 barely reaching end of P1 carpus, less than 1.5 times carapace length. P2 merus unarmed, 4 times as long as high, nearly 3.5 times length of carpus and 1.7 times length of propodus; carpus carinated along lateral side; propodus nearly 4 times as long as high and less than 1.5 times length of dactylus; dactylus ending in curved claw preceded by 5 or 6 proximally diminishing teeth on nearly straight flexor margin, each spine bearing short seta, and ultimate tooth closer to penultimate one than to end of terminal claw.

Epipods absent from P1–4.

Remarks. Munidopsis sinclairi was described from an ovigerous female collected off the southern coast of Sri Lanka, at 1610 m ( McArdle 1901). The specimens examined agree quite well with the original description and illustration. Unfortunately, the type specimen has not been examined so a definitive identification is not possible. One of the main differences to distinguish the species from other related species, e.g. M. debilis ( Henderson, 1885) (see above and Baba 2005), is the presence of strong rugosities on the carapace. This character is observed in most of the specimens examined. However, some individuals present weak rugosities, indicating a certain degree of intraspecific variation in this character. Nevertheless, M. debilis can be easily differentiable from M. sinclairi by the shape of the rostru: laceolate with a longitudinal dorsal groove in M. debilis , whereas the rostrum is spiniform, without dorsal groove in M. sinclairi (see above).

Distribution. Known from off south coast of Sri Lanka, 1610 m ( McArdle 1901), off the southwest coast of Halmahera, Moluccas, off the west coast of Halmahera, Teluk Tomini (Sulawesi), and off southeast Luzon, 527–1526 m ( Baba 1988, 2005). The present material has been collected in Madagascar (880–1750 m), Indonesia (715–1080 m), the Philippines (810–884 m), New Caledonia (1060–1500 m), Vanuatu (980–1191 m) and Solomon Islands (582–1598 m).