Ampithoe kava Myers, 1985

Peart, Rachael A., 2007, A review of the Australian species of Ampithoe Leach, 1814 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Ampithoidae) with descriptions of seventeen new species, Zootaxa 1566 (1), pp. 1-95 : 42-44

Ampithoe kava Myers, 1985

( Figs 30–31 )

Ampithoe kava Myers, 1985: 21 (key), 22–24, fig. 15.—Myers, 1986: 288 (table 1).—Lyons & Myers, 1990: 1200, figs 3–4.— Poore & Lowry, 1997: 909–913, figs 6–9.— Appadoo & Myers, 2004: 333 .

Ampithoe ramondi .—J.L. Barnard, 1970: 50, figs 18–19.— Ledoyer, 1984: 13–14, fig. 4. [Not A. ramondi Audouin, 1826 ].

Type material. Holotype: AM P35180, male, Taunovo Bay , Viti Levu, Fiji, 18°15’S 178°00’E, 21 Aug 1979, on mixed red algae from a reef, A.A. Myers.

Paratypes: AM P35181, males and females, 21 specimens, type locality .

Other material examined. AM P61851, 2 specimens , on encrusted Sargassum sp. ; AM P61852, 6 specimens , on Lobophora sp. , S side of Woopi Reef , Woolgoolga Beach, N of Coffs Harbour, NSW, 30°07’05”S 153°13’00”E, 23 Sep 1999, 5 m , R. Peart & S. Richards ; AM P59814–P59822 , AM P59824 , AM P59828– P59830 , AM P61853 , many specimens, on Ecklonia radiata, Clovelly Bay, Sydney, NSW , 33°55.01’S 151°15.98’E, 16 Dec 1999 – 19 Jan 2000, 6 m, K. Dempsey & R. Peart ;

AM P59832–P59838, 49 specimens, on fine brown algae, Clovelly Bay , Sydney, NSW, 33°55.01’S 151°15.98’E, 19 Jan 2000, 6 m, K. Dempsey & R. Peart;

AM P59809–P59813 , AM P59825–P59827 , AM P59831 , 134 specimens, brown algae, off Harbord Baths , Sydney, NSW, 33°46.99’S 151°17.61’E, 8 Dec 1999 – 18 Jan 2000, 5 m, K. Dempsey & R. Peart , 5 m.

Diagnosis. Antenna 2 robust, better developed than antenna 1, not densely setose on ventral margin. Gnathopod 1 carpal lobe rounded; carpus shorter than propodus; palm convex, without midmedial tooth, without posterodistal tooth defining palm; dactylus overreaching palm. Gnathopod 2 with long setae on margins, not plumose; basis posterodistal lobe large and rounded, with 2 or 3 robust setae; carpus shorter than propodus; palm acute, incised, without midmedial tooth, with large, blunt posterodistal tooth defining palm, without a defining robust seta; dactylus subequal in length to palm. Pereopod 3 basis expanded; merus narrow. Pereopods 5–7 weakly prehensile. Pereopod 5 merus subrectangular. Uropod 3 peduncle with 4 distal robust setae, outer ramus subequal to inner ramus, without patch of small conical lateral denticles, without lateral setal fringe; inner ramus with 3 distal robust setae. Telson distally rounded, apical cusps small.

Habitat. Ampithoe kava occurs on coral rubble, seagrasses, macroalgae, brown algae ( Dictyota sp. , Dictyopteris sp. , Ecklonia radiata , Lobophora sp. , Padina sp. , Sargassum sp. ), red algae, Halimeda sp. , Turbinaria sp. , sponges, Pocillopora sp. and coral rubble ( Myers 1985; this study). This species builds tubes out of detritus and algal fragments on the surface of macroalgae or between adjacent blades in 1–2 m of water ( Poore & Lowry 1997).

Remarks. The morphological similarities between A. kava and other species are well documented by Poore & Lowry (1997).

Distribution. Fijian Islands; Hawaiian Islands; Tonga; New Caledonia; New South Wales, Australia; Aqaba, Red Sea.

Figures

FIGURE 30. Ampithoe kava Myers, 1985, female, 9.4 mm, AM P45057, Shark Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia.

FIGURE 31. Ampithoe kava Myers, 1985, female, 9.4 mm, AM P45057, male, 7.8 mm, AM P45058, Shark Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia. Scales for U3 and T represent 0.1 mm, and for the rest 0.2 mm.