Maja cornuta ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Ng, Peter K. L. & Forges, Bertrand Richer De, 2015, Revision of the spider crab genus Maja Lamarck, 1801 (Crustacea: Brachyura: Majoidea: Majidae), with descriptions of seven new genera and 17 new species from the Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 63, pp. 110-225 : 123

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5384590
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:40BCDD62-D35E-46D1-95A3-2CC0DF219DEE
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03A9654B-FF8C-0755-5671-F9DE7AB0F7B6
treatment provided by	Valdenar
scientific name	Maja cornuta ( Linnaeus, 1758 )
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Treatment

Maja cornuta ( Linnaeus, 1758) View in CoL

( Figs. 5 View Fig , 7J–N View Fig , 36D View Fig , 39C View Fig , 43E View Fig , 47E, F View Fig , 53D, E View Fig )

Cancer cornutus Linnaeus, 1758: 629 View Cited Treatment . – Linnaeus, 1764: 445.

Maja squinado var. capensis Ortmann, 1894: 40 View in CoL .

Mamaia queketti Stebbing, 1908: 3 View in CoL , pl. 27.

Mamaia capensis – Barnard, 1950: 59, fig. 13a.

Maja capensis View in CoL – Neumann, 1998: 1675.

? Maja capensis View in CoL – Ng et al., 2008: 117 (list).

[For complete synonymy, see Neumann, 1998: 1675, as Maja capensis Ortmann, 1894 View in CoL ]

Material examined. Lectotype of Maja squinado var. capensis (here designated) and neotype (here designated) of Cancer cornutus Linnaeus, 1758 : male (96.8 × 89.5 mm,

110.0 × 100.0 mm with spines) ( ZMS), Port Elizabeth, South Africa, obtained from natural history dealer Rolle in Berlin, 1891. South Africa – 1 dried female (71.0 × 60.3 mm, 80.0 × 70.0 mm with spines) ( ZMS) (paralectotype of Maja squinado var. capensis Ortmann, 1894 ), same data as lectotype. — 1 male (88.8 × 86.8 mm) ( NHM 1928.12.1.177) (lectotype, here designated, of Mamaia queketti Stebbing, 1908 ), Port Elizabeth , Stebbing Collection, coll. Fitzsimons, 5 November 1907 . — 1 female ( NHM 1913.3.29.4), Durban , coll. H. C. Chubb. — 2 males ( NHM 1928.12.1.178–179), Bird Island , 45 fathoms, coll. H. W. Bek Marley. — 1 ovigerous female (114.9 × 103.8 mm) ( ZRC 2005.0014 View Materials ), Kenton on Sea, Bay World, Port Elizabeth , eastern part of Cape of Good Hope , coll. S. Warren, 1 December 2003 . — 1 male (115.3 × 103.4 mm) ( ZRC 2013.1184 View Materials ), station ACEP 1.4 , Transvaal, off Durban , 29°58.56’S 31°04.98’E – 29°57’S 31°06.3’E, 65 m, trawl, coll. S. Fennessy, 18 March 2010 GoogleMaps . — 2 males (79.8 × 68.9 mm, 53.8 × 45.1 mm) ( ZRC 2013.1183 View Materials ), station ACEP 2.4 , Transvaal , 29°29.9’S 31°52.8’E – 29°26.56’S 31°53.5’E, 184 m, trawl, coll. S. Fennessy, 19 March 2010 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Large species (adult carapace length in excess of 80 mm). Carapace pyriform; dorsal surface strongly convex; uniformly covered with granules and short spines ( Fig. 5 View Fig ). Pseudorostral spines long, straight, strongly diverging ( Figs. 5 View Fig , 36D View Fig ). Supraorbital eave relatively narrow, antorbital spine sharp, curved upwards; intercalated spine stout, short, touching postorbital spine basally; postorbital spine largest, long, sharp; hepatic spine sharp with 2 accessory spines basally ( Figs. 5 View Fig , 36D View Fig ). Lateral margin of carapace with 3 strong spines and several small sharp granules and short spines ( Fig. 5 View Fig ). On median row 7 strong spines: 3 gastric, 2 subgastric, 1 cardiac, 1 intestinal, with 1 sharp granule between cardiac and intestinal spines ( Fig. 5 View Fig ). Branchial region with 2 spines; posterior carapace margin with 2 spines ( Fig. 5 View Fig ). Basal antennal article very broad with 2 long distal spines; outer margin with proximal spine, appressed on suborbital tooth ( Fig. 39C View Fig ). Ischium of third maxilliped rectangular, much longer than broad ( Fig. 43E View Fig ). Carpus of cheliped with distinct tubercles and granules ( Fig. 53D, E View Fig ). Ambulatory dactyli covered with short setae ( Fig. 5 View Fig ). G1 long, gently curved; distal part gently curved downwards (Fig. J–N).

Remarks. Maja cornuta (previously M. capensis ) occurs in the sublittoral zone on the Indian Ocean side of South Africa. Compared with M. brachydactyla , the carapace of M. cornuta is not as inflated, the pseudorostral spines are relatively longer and more slender, the antorbital spine is more distinctly curved anteriorly, there is a relatively wider gap between the intercalated, supra- and postorbital spines (the three spines are closely appressed in M. brachydactyla ), and all the spines on carapace margin, including the hepatic one, are proportionately longer and sharper. The G1 structures are also slightly different between the two species: in M. brachydactyla it is straight with a large terminal opening ( Fig. 7D–I View Fig ), while in M. cornuta , it is slender and curved with a more slender tip ( Fig. 7J–L View Fig ). See also discussion for M. squinado .