Colossendeis colossea Wilson 1881

Arango, Claudia P., 2009, New species and new records of sea spiders (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) from deep waters in Western Australia, Zootaxa 1977, pp. 1-20 : 3

Colossendeis colossea Wilson 1881

Colossendeis colossea . —Fry and Hedgpeth 1969: 53–54 [earlier literature]. — Child 1998: 56 –57. — Staples 2007 [literature]: 87, Figs 2 , 7 .

Material: AM P72971, 1 male. 26 November 2005, Point Hillier, Western Australia, CSIRO station 051-002, collected by Sherman sled from 35.5238°S 117.2130°E to 35.5337°S 117.2380°E, soft bottom, 1074 m.

Remarks: The taxonomic description of Colossendeis colossea has been recently reviewed by Staples (2007). This specimen adds to his list of material collected by the R/V Southern Surveyor. It mostly agrees with the description of other Australian specimens of C. colossea . The last oviger segment clearly tapers distally and it coalesces with the curved oviger claw. The proportions of the palp segment also correspond with those of C. colossea , although the present specimen has the distal segment of the right palp atrophied, appearing only as a small round bump. Colossendeis colossea is known as a cosmopolitan deep-sea species. In Australia it has been found in North West and West of Australia, South Australia and the South East ( Staples 2007), but is yet to be found in the North East Australian waters; it is the only Colossendeis species known from Western Australia.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Comparison of diagnostic characters in Rhopalorhynchus sibogae and R. tenuissimum. A. Proboscis of juvenile of R. tenuissimum, QM S 910 (dash line shows where it is broken) in Staples (1982). B. Proboscis of juvenile of R. sibogae WAM 70 - 3942 in Child (1975). C. Proboscis of female R. sibogae AM P 72804 in this study. D. Proboscis of male R. sibogae AM P 72807 in this study. E. Palp of female R. sibogae AM P 72804. F. Palp of juvenile R. sibogae WAM 70 - 3942.

FIGURE 7. Tanystylum zuytdorpi n. sp., holotype. A. Dorsal view; scale = 0.5 mm. B. Lateral view. C. Third leg; scale bar = 1 mm. D. Distal leg segments. E. Proboscis. F. Oviger. Scale bars D and E = 0.1 mm.