Mayer, 1890 : 41
Steinberg & Dougherty, 1957 : 283
McCain, 1968 : 82
Wakabara et al ., 1991 : 73
Camp, 1998 : 132
Díaz et al , 2005 : 6
Montelli & Lewis, 2008 : 36
Bhave & Deshmukh, 2009 : 111
Guerra-García et al ., 2010 : 304
Ros et al. , 2013 : 675
Paz-Ríos et al ., 2014 : 2550
Reid, 1951 : 283
Caprellidae (Crustacea: Peracarida: Amphipoda) from the Red Sea and Suez Canal, with the redescription of Metaprotella africana and Paradeutella multispinosa
Zeina, Amr F.
Guerra, José M.
Zootaxa
2016
4098
2
227
253
Paz-Ríos et al ., 2014 : 2550
Mayer, 1890
Mayer
1890
[151,557,1013,1039]
Malacostraca
Pariambidae
Paracaprella
Animalia
Amphipoda
14
241
Arthropoda
species
pusilla
Paracaprella pusilla Mayer, 1890: 41, pl. 1, figs. 28–30; pl. 3; figs. 45–47; pl. 5, figs. 48–49; pl. 6, fig. 10; 1903: 67, pl. 2, figs. 36–37; pl. 7, fig. 52; Steinberg & Dougherty, 1957: 283–284, figs. 16, 19, 24, 30; McCain, 1968: 82–86, figs. 41–42; Wakabara et al., 1991: 73; Camp, 1998: 132; Díaz et al, 2005: 6–7, 22, fig. 13; Guerra-García et al., 2006: 175–178, figs. 17–19; Montelli & Lewis, 2008: 36–38, fig. 5; Bhave & Deshmukh, 2009: 111–112, figs. 1–2; Guerra-García et al., 2010: 304–305, fig. 8; Ros& Guerra-García, 2012: 134–139; Ros et al., 2013: 675–685, fig. 2; Paz-Ríos et al., 2014: 2550– 2553: fig. 17 Caprella nigra Reid, 1951: 283–284, 289, fig. 58.
Remarks.No specimens of Paracaprella pusillahave been collected during the present study. The presence of P. pusillain the Suez Canal was reported by Schellenberg (1928), who cited the species in three stations: Kantara ( 46 kmfrom Port Said), Kabret (between Little Bitter Lake and Great Bitter Lake) and Port Taufiq. Since then, the species has not been recorded nor in the Suez Canal nor along the Red Sea. The material reported by Schellenberg (1928) could not be located by us for examination, but according to the remarks provided by this author, it seems that there is no doubt in the species identification (see Schellenberg, 1928, p. 678: “agree so completely with all the characters described and figured by Mayer that they may undoubtedly referred to Paracaprella pusilla”). Although the species appears to be a strongly Caribbean species ( Carlton& Eldredge, 2009), it has been recently introduced at the west and east coasts of Mediterranean Sea (see Ros& Guerra-Garcia, 2012and Rose t at., 2013, Ros et al., 2015). Ros et al. (2013)suggested two main alternatives to explain the presence of P. pusillain the Mediterranean Sea: The species entered (a) via the Suez Canal (Port Said) on vessels from the Indo-Pacific, or (b) through the Strait of Gibraltar, on vessels arriving from the Atlantic coast of America or from the established population in southwest Spain. P. pusillahas been primarily associated with fouling communities in harbours and marinas ( Ros& Guerra-Garcia, 2012), but, unfortunately, we could not confirm the presence of the species along the Egyptian coast, since we could not have access to marinas of Egyptduring the present study due to access restrictions because of political reasons. And we did not find the species in natural environments. However, taking into account that the species has become the most abundant among the caprellids found along the entire coast of India, both in harbours and in natural intertidal rocky shores (Guerra-Garcia et al., 2010), it is not surprising that the species could be also abundant in the Red Sea. Future studies must be addressed to confirm the presence of P. pusillain this area. Figures of the species based on specimens from Brazil were provided by Mayer (1890). Guerra-Garcia et al.(2006) figured additional Caribbean material collected from the coast of Colombia.
Distribution. Typelocality:Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Mayer, 1890). Other records:Western North Atlantic, Tropical West Africa and Soth Africa, Tanzania, Suez Canal, Hawaii, China, Gulf of Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, India, Australia and Mediterranean (McCain & Steinberg 1970; Wakabara et al. 1991; Ortiz and Lalana 1998; Diaz et al, 2005; Winfield et al. 2006; Montelli& Lewis, 2008; Guerra-Garcia et al., 2010). Details of the global distribution and invasion history are provided by Ros& Guerra-Garcia, 2012and Ros et al., 2013).