Axianassa jamaicensis Kensley & Heard , 1990

Anker, Arthur & Pachelle, Paulo P. G., 2016, Mud-shrimps of the genus Axianassa Schmitt, 1924 from Panama, with description of two new species (Decapoda: Gebiidea: Laomediidae), Zootaxa 4111 (2), pp. 101-125 : 108-109

Axianassa jamaicensis Kensley & Heard, 1990

( Fig. 6 )

Axianassa jamaicensis Kensley & Heard 1990 : 566, fig. 6.

Material examined. 1 female (cl 7.3 mm), MZUSP 34098, Caribbean coast of Panama, Isla Grande, southwestern coast, subtidal sand-mud flat near sea grass beds, in burrow, 0.5–1.5 m, coll. A. Anker, J.F. Lazarus, T. Kaji, 27.iii.2015.

Description. See Kensley & Heard (1990); colour photographs are provided in Fig. 6 .

Colouration. Creamy yellowish or pinkish, with pale reddish chromatophores arranged in a characteristic pattern on carapace and each abdominal somite; chelipeds hyaline-white with large reddish or pinkish areas, especially dorsally; inner organs pale yellow-orange ( Fig. 6 ).

Distribution. Western Atlantic: Jamaica (Montego Bay) and Panama ( Isla Grande) ( Kensley & Heard 1990; present study).

Ecology. Intertidal and shallow subtidal (less than 1.5 m) sand flats with fine sand and mud component; in burrows in muddy sand.

Remarks. Axianassa jamaicensis was hitherto known only from the male holotype from Montego Bay, Jamaica ( Kensley & Heard 1990). The single female from Isla Grande thus represents the second record of A.

jamaicensis since the original description of the species and also the first record for Panama. The chelipeds of the Panamanian female are noticeably weaker ( Fig. 6 B) compared to those of the holotype male ( Kensley & Heard 1990: fig. 6A), a sexual dimorphism typical of most, if not all species of Axianassa .

Figures

FIGURE 6. Axianassa jamaicensis Kensley & Heard, 1990: A, B—female (cl 7.3 mm) from Isla Grande, Panama (MZUSP 34098), in dorsal (A) and lateral (B) views.