Shoemakerella cubensis ( Stebbing, 1897 )

White, Kristine N., 2024, Caribbean Amphipoda (Crustacea) of Panama. Part III: parvorder Lysianassidira, ZooKeys 1216, pp. 149-171 : 149-171

Shoemakerella cubensis ( Stebbing, 1897)

Figs 6 , 11 A

Lysianax cubensis Stebbing, 1897: 29–30, pl. 7 B; Hurley 1963: 70–71, fig. 20 b, c; Lowry and Stoddart 1989: 236–237.

Lysianassa cubensis Stebbing, 1906: 38; Shoemaker 1935: 232–234, fig. 1.

Lysanopsis alba Pearse, 1912: 369, fig. 1 (in part); Shoemaker 1921: 99.

Shoemakerella nasuta Pirlot, 1936: 265–266; Pirlot 1939: 47–48; Shoemaker 1948: 1–2; J. L. Barnard 1969: 180; Ortiz and Lalana Rueda 1993: 26; Ortiz and Lemaitre 1994: 124.

Lysianopsis cubensis Hurley, 1963 : fig. 21 a.

Lysianassa nasuta Ortiz, 1978: 8; Ortiz 1979: 19; Lalana Rueda and Pérez Moreno 1985: 51; Lalana Rueda et al. 1989: 210; Lalana Rueda and Ortiz 1990: 196; Ortiz and Lalana Rueda 1992: 40.

Shoemakerella cubensis Barnard & Karaman, 1991: 530; Lowry and Stoddart 1997: 92–98, figs 43–45; LeCroy 2007: 588, fig. 495.

Material examined.

Panama • 1.5–4 mm • 3 ♀, 1 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Hospital Point ; 9.3336°N, 82.2188°W; depth 15 m, among coral rubble and Halimeda ; 6 Aug 2005; S. DeGrave and M. Salazar leg.; GCRL 6659 • 2 ♂, 9 ♀, 11 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Lime Point ; 9.4149°N, 82.3323°W; depth 0.2–0.5 m, among coral rubble and red algae; 5 Aug 2005; S. DeGrave and M. Salazar leg.; GCRL 6660 • 1 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Juan Point ; 9.3015°N, 82.2940°W; depth 10 m, among coral rubble; 7 Aug 2021; K. N. White leg.; USNM 1739779 • 1 ♂, 2 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Isla Solarte ; 9.29011°N, 82.1897°W; depth 1–5 m, mangrove scrapings; 8 Aug 2021; K. N. White leg.; USNM 1739780 , USNM 1739781 .

Diagnosis.

Head and body with tiny setules. Epistome strongly concave. Pereopod 6 basis posterior margin nearly straight. Pereopod 7 propodus length ~ 5 × width. Telson apex rounded.

Distribution.

USA: Panama City to Dry Tortugas, Florida ( Lowry and Stoddart 1997; LeCroy 2007); Cuba ( Stebbing 1897); Panama: Bocas del Toro (present study).

Ecology and remarks.

These amphipods are associated with algae and coral rubble at depths of 2– 69 m. Panamanian specimens closely resemble previously described specimens and can be readily distinguished from Shoemakerella lowryi Gable & Lazo-Wasem, 1990 based on the pereopod 6 basis posterior margin, pereopod 7 propodus length relative to the carpus length, and the telson apex. Panamanian specimens are yellow-orange in color when alive.

Figures

Figure 6. Shoemakerella cubensis, male, 4.0 mm, pereopod 7, pereopod 6, head, epistome, and upper lip, telson, gnathopod 2 lateral, uropod 2. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 11. Photographs of live specimens unless noted A Shoemakerella cubensis (ethanol preserved specimen) B Shoemakerella lowryi C Lepidepecreum magdalenensis (ethanol preserved specimen) D Orchomenella thomasi (ethanol preserved specimen). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.