Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata Holthuis, 1941

Brokensha, Rouane, Landschoff, Jannes & Griffiths, Charles, 2025, Taxonomic guide to the mantis shrimps (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) of South Africa, Zootaxa 5713 (1), pp. 1-93 : 51-53

Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata Holthuis, 1941

( Fig. 20 )

Lysiosquilla maculata var. tredecimdentata Holthuis, 1941: 273–274 , fig. 6 [ type locality Hedjaff, near Aden].

Lysiosquilla maculata .— Kemp, 1913: 111, pl. 8: figs. 87–89 [not L. maculata ( Fabricius, 1793) ].

Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata .— Manning, 1968a: 38–41, fig. 13.— Holthuis, 1967a: 23.— Manning, 1978d: 3, 13, 15, fig. 13; 1995: 132–133, pl. 24, figs. 68b, 69c, f.—Ahyong, 2001: 135–137, fig. 66.— Ahyong et al., 2008: 37, 40, fig.28–30.— Liu 2008: [list].— Ahyong & Lin, 2022: fig. 2.

Material examined. KZN: SAMC-A019445 , 1 ♀ (TL 125 mm), Durban, 29°53’06.6”S 31°00’00.0”E, Apr 1922, depth unknown, coll. H.W. Bell Marley. SAMC-A092087 , 1 ♀ (TL 116 mm), Durban, same as above, depth and date unknown .

Diagnosis. Ocular scales triangular, erect, inclined anteriorly. A1 somite dorsal processes directed anteriorly. Rostral plate cordiform; broadest in advance of base; with median carina anteriorly, not flanked by grooves or carinae. A2 scale slender, length 3 times width or greater; protopod with blunt mediodorsal tooth. Mandibular palp present. Raptorial claw dactylus with 10–13 teeth; carpus dorsal tooth directed ventrally, recurved medially. Pereopods 1–3 with slender endopod. TS8 sternal keel produced as a posteriorly directed spine. Male PLP1 endopod with posterior endite. Uropodal protopod usually with small spine anterior to endopod articulation; exopod proximal segment outer margin with 7–9 movable spines; endopod apex dark.

Colour in alcohol. Completely faded.

Colour in life (after Ahyong 2001). Dorsum base colour pale yellow, with black transverse bands. Carapace with three dark, broad, transverse bands intervened by narrower pale bands. Uropodal exopod with distal half of proximal segment and proximal 0.66 of distal segment black; outer movable spines dark red. Uropodal endopod with distal 0.66 black. A2 scale with dark brown outline. Pereopods with pink setae on distal segment.

Measurements. ♀ (n = 2) TL 116–125 mm. CI 358–383. A1 peduncle 0.56–0.59CL.A2 scale length 3.02–3.18 times width and 0.60–0.61CL. PI 80–85. Uropodal endopod length 1.76–1.83 times width. Ahyong (2001) records the largest known specimen at TL 276 mm.

Distribution and habitat. Indo-West Pacific from Australia, Central Pacific, Vietnam, Thailand and India to Madagascar and South Africa in the Western Indian Ocean; occupies deep burrows in sand and mud substrates on level intertidal and subtidal habitats.

Remarks. Lysiosquilla tredecidentata was first recorded from South Africa by Manning (1969a) from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Both specimens of L. tredecidentata examined herein were originally labelled L. maculata in the museum collection, further highlighting the need for all early identifications of lysiosquillids to be verified. The specimens examined agree well with previous accounts of the species ( Manning 1968a; Ahyong 2001). Allometric variation in the presence of the spinule adjacent to the articulation of the uropodal endopod is known for the species (Ahyong 2001). Specimens exceeding 180 mm usually lack the uropodal spinule, but rather exhibit a low tubercle. Both specimens examined herein exhibit the spinule.A reduced number of teeth on the dactylus of the raptorial claw is known for larger females, where nine teeth are recorded for Australian material (Ahyong 2001). However, this is not reflected in the present study material.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Lysiosquilla tredecimdentata Holthuis, 1941, ♀ TL 116 mm, SAMC-A092087. A, TS6–8, left lateral; B, TS8 sternal keel, left lateral; C, right raptorial claw, lateral; D, anterior cephalothorax, dorsal; E–G, right pereopods 1–3, posterior; H, AS6, telson, right uropod, dorsal; I, right uropod, ventral. Scale A–I = 5 mm.