Leptochelia savignyi (Krøyer, 1842)

Bamber, Roger N., 2011, The marine fauna and flora of the Isles of Scilly. Tanaidacea (Crustacea: Peracarida), Journal of Natural History 45 (29 - 30), pp. 1801-1815 : 1812-1813

Leptochelia savignyi (Krøyer, 1842)

Leptochelia savignyi Holdich and Jones, 1983 , 48–49; fig. 14. Bamber, 2010 (redescription and synonymy).

Material

Two subadult ♂♂, 3 brooding ♀♀, 1 neuter, low-littoral Audouinella -bedded sand on boulders, south side of causeway to White Island , northwest St Martin’s, 7 April 2001 ; 4♂♂, 2♀♀ (1 brooding), shingle in sandy gravel with weed, south of Broad ledge, St Martin’s Flats, 9 April 2001 ; 4♀♀, 2 neuters, 33 neuters/mancae ( BMNH 2009.302 – 311 ), low-littoral Audouinella -bedded sand on bedrock, Thomas Porth , St Mary’s, 49 ◦ 55.18 ′ N, 06 ◦ 18.56 ′ W, 27 June 2009. All coll. RNB. 3♀♀, lowlittoral algal turf, Appletree Bay , Tresco, 49 ◦ 56.48 ′ N, 06 ◦ 20.09 ′ W, 8 September 2010, coll. A.S.Y. Mackie. 1♂, 2 neuters, low-littoral Audouinella -bedded sand, Burnt Island , Periglis Cove, St Agnes, 49 ◦ 53.77 ′ N, 06 ◦ 21.71 ′ W, 9 September 2010 ; 18♀♀ (7 brooding), 5♂♂, 6 mancae, mid-littoral Audouinella -bedded sand, North Periglis , St Agnes, 49 ◦ 53.78 ′ N, 06 ◦ 21.03 ′ W, 9 September 2010 ; 4♀♀ (1 brooding), lowlittoral Audouinella -bedded sand, Pelistry Bay , St Mary’s, 49 ◦ 55.68 ′ N, 06 ◦ 16.82 ′ W, 12 September 2010. All coll. RNB.

Other unpublished material examined

Three ♀♀ (1 brooding), under stones with holdfasts and Lithothamnium, Pergelis, St Agnes , 11 September 2006 (coll. P R Garwood) .

Other records

Three specimens, Lion Rock. St Martin’s, 49 ◦ 58.93 ′ N, 06 ◦ 18.21 ′ W, 1996 ( Kendall et al. 1996).

Remarks

There has been much controversy over the last hundred years or so about the specific attribution of species of Leptochelia (see, for example, Bamber 2008: pp. 184–186). Recent examination of material from southwestern England has confirmed that the species present there, and including the present Isles of Scilly material, is indeed L. savignyi sensu stricto ( Bamber 2010).

In northeastern Europe the species appears to be restricted to western Ireland, both sides of the English Channel west of 2 ◦ W, and Galicia, northwest Spain ( Esquete-Garrote et al. 2009) so presumably there are suitable sites between and its occurrence in the Isles of Scilly was therefore anticipated. The type locality of L. savignyi is Madeira. Like Tanais dulongii in this region, L. savignyi appears to be restricted to littoral algal-bedded sediments, wherein it is likely to be present throughout the archipelago.