Leptochelia bulbus ( Bamber, 2006 ) BAMBER, ROGER N, 2013

BAMBER, ROGER N, 2013, A re-assessment of Konarus Bamber, 2006 and sympatric leptocheliids from Australasia, and of Pseudoleptochelia Lang, 1973 (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea), Zootaxa 3694 (1), pp. 1-39 : 8-9

Leptochelia bulbus ( Bamber, 2006) comb. nov.

Fig. 1

Pseudoleptochelia bulbus Bamber, 2006 , 16–20 (females only); figs 7–8.

Leptochelia aff. minuta Bamber, 2006 , 12–15; fig. 6.

Material: one brooding female, holotype ( MNHN.Ta899), on Halimeda, Lagon, Ilot Maitre , New Caledonia, 22º19.41′S 166º20.89′E, 20 m depth, 9/11/95; coll. Ichiro Takeuchi. One female, paratype ( MNHN.Ta901 [part]), one female, dissected, two males ( MNHN.Ta898), sample LF3 ‘83’, Baie de Santal , Loyalty Islands, 20º07.27′S 167º07.34′E, 12 m depth on red algae.

Remarks. The male and female of this species were both described by Bamber (2006), albeit as different taxa. The elongate cheliped ( Fig. 1E ) and antennule of the male are typical of the “ minuta ”-group of Leptochelia (“ Leptochelia -Gruppe 1” of Lang, 1973). Bamber (ibid.) lists the distinctions of the male of this species from the other members of the “ minuta ”-group known at that time. Since then, Guţu (2011) described his new species L. helenae from Indonesia, and Edgar (2012) described L. evansi and L. gadgeti as new species from Western Australia. The distinctions of the male L. bulbus cited by Bamber (2006) apply equally well to these three species.

Remarkably, despite L. minuta being the type-species of the genus, the only females of the “ minuta ”-group to have been formally described are those of L. helenae , although there are some described species of Leptochelia known only from the females which may be found to belong to this group. Harger (1880) gave a cursory mention (and no figures) of females of his new species L. rapax , but the only useful datum was a uropod endopod of five segments (unlike the present species). Guţu (2011) had both females and males of L. helenae ; his females share with L. bulbus the presence of five distal setae on the maxilliped-basis, but differ in having a proportionately more slender proximal antennular-peduncle article, a naked proximal antennal article, more slender cheliped carpus, inter alia.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Leptochelia bulbus comb. nov., A, holotype female; B, female antennule; C, female antenna; D, male; E, male cheliped (all redrawn after Bamber, 2006).