Ampelisca persicus, Momtazi, 2020

Momtazi, Farzaneh, 2020, Ampelisca Krøyer, 1842 (Amphipoda: Ampeliscidae) in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, Zootaxa 4852 (3), pp. 333-349 : 337-341

Ampelisca persicus sp. nov.

( Figs 3–4 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:14C31F2D-0A59-4771-AD58-59EEC3C6B6DF

Ampelisca cf. brevicornis Al-Yamani et al., 2019: 59 , pl. 6–7, fig. ZP–3.

Material examined. Holotype: female, 8.5 mm ( INIOC2–105 S), Gulf of Oman, Iran (25°14.477’N 60°15.644’E), depth 19 m.

Paratypes: female, 5.3 mm ( INIOC2–104 ), Gulf of Oman, Iran (25°14.477’N 60°15.644’E), depth 19 m ; female, 7.4 mm ( INIOC1–206 S), Persian Gulf , Iran (27°59.97’N 50°53.98’E), depth 68 m ; four females, 4.3–6 mm ( INIOC1–207 S), Persian Gulf , Iran (29°5.53’N 50°6.74’E), depth 45 m ; two females, 5.4–7.1 mm ( INIOC1–208 S), Persian Gulf , Iran (29°21.90’N 49°42.19’E), depth 41 m ; three females, 6.7–6.9 mm ( INIOC1–209 S), Persian Gulf (27°15.56’N 51°3.36’E), depth 70 m ; female, 4.3 mm ( INIOC1–210 S), Persian Gulf , Iran (28°12.06’N 51°6.16’E), depth 29 m ; male, 7.2 mm ( INIOC1–211 S), Persian Gulf , Iran (28°33.83’N 50°52.20’E), depth 33 m.

Description. Based on female 8.5 mm, holotype (INIOC2–105S).

Head. Shorter than three anterior somites, ventral and dorsal margins parallel. Rostrum present, shorter than 1/3 of the first peduncle article of antenna 1. Eyes present, two pairs. Mandibular palp, second article twice as wide as third article. Maxilla 1, inner lobe with 2 apical setae. Antenna 1, shorter than peduncle of second antennae, shorter than 1/3 of body length. Antenna 2, subequal to half of body length, fourth article longer than fifth; flagellum setose.

Pereon. Gnathopod 1, coxa without tooth on posteroventral corner; propodus subequal to carpus, palm with robust seta. Gnathopod 2, coxa without tooth on posteroventral corner, with dilution on anterior margin; propodus shorter than half of carpus. Pereopod 3, coxa ventrally smooth; merus with plumose setae on less than half of length of anterior margin; dactylus longer than carpus and propodus. Pereopod 4, coxa with straight ventral margin; dactylus longer than carpus and propodus. Pereopod 5, missing. Pereopod 6, carpus equal than propodus. Pereopod 7, posteroventral lobe of basis distinctly exceeding ischium; ischium subequal to merus; merus anterior and posterior lobes present; merus shorter than carpus; carpus shorter than propodus, anterior lobe present and posterior lobe absent; propodus ovoid; dactylus tapering, falcate.

Pleon. Third epimeron posterior margin bisinuous, with tooth in posteroventral angle. Uropod 1, rami equal; outer ramus longer than peduncle, outer ramus smooth, inner ramus with robust setae on medial margin. Uropod 2, peduncle with row of setae on medial margin; rami equal, subequal to peduncle, inner ramus with robust setae on medial margin, apices without large apical setae. Uropod 3, rami subequal, outer ramus with many simple setae in outer margin and along half of outer margin, inner ramus serrulate with simple setae along both margins. Urosomite 1–2 present, urosomite 2 with dorsal acute hump and single seta. Urosomite 3, dorsal keel absent, without dorsal setae. Telson with medial and apical setae; tapering distally and apically pointed.

Type locality. Persian Gulf.

Etymology. The term persicus refers to the locality of the species, southern coasts of Iran along the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf.

Remarks. Ampelisca persicus sp. nov. resembles A. brevicornis ( Costa, 1853) , which is considered a cosmopolitan species by Griffiths (1974). However, A. persicus sp. nov. differs from A. brevicornis by the following features: expanded second article of the mandibular palp (vs. not expanded in A. brevicornis ); a distinctly narrower second coxa that has not been reported in earlier descriptions of A. brevicornis ; the presence of an anterior lobe on the basis of the sixth pereopod (vs. lacking in A. brevicornis ); the lack of a small tooth in any of the first three coxae (vs. present in A. brevicornis ); the posterodistal lobe of the basis of the seventh pereopod distinctly exceeding the ischium (vs. not exceeding in A. brevicornis ); the unsetose outer ramus of second uropod (vs. setose in A. brevicornis); the posterior margin of the second epimeron lacking seta (present in A. brevicornis ); and the fourth coxa with straight ventral margin (vs. semicircular in A. brevicornis ).

Kaïm-Malka (2000) was reviwed the morphological variations in Ampelisca brevicornis species group and defined A. brevicornis complex by the following characters: (i) shape of head, margins are parallel and obliquely truncated in the middle of head; (ii) pereopod 7 has a posterior lobe on the merus; and (iii) third epimeron 3 has a tooth in the lower posterior corner. This group consists of eighteen taxa: A. brevicornis ( Costa, 1853) ; A. brevicornis var. canmora Reid, 1951 ; A. brevicornis var. dentifera Schellenberg, 1925 ; A. brevicornis var. intermedia Schellenberg, 1925 ; A. brevicornis var. platypus Schellenberg, 1925 ; A. brevicornis var.? rectangula Schellenberg, 1925; A. brevisimulata Barnard, 1954 ; A. cavicoxa Reid, 1951 ; A. cristata Holmes, 1908 ; A. cristata f. microdentata Barnard, 1954; A. cristoides Barnard, 1954 ; A. pacifica Holmes, 1908 ; A. panamensis Barnard, 1954 ; A. parapanamensis Barnard, 1954 ; A. pectenata Reid, 1951 ; A. senegalensis Chevreux, 1925 ; A. subbrevicornis Pirlot, 1936 ; and Ampelisca persicus sp. nov. The new species, A. persicus is distinguished from other taxa of this group by presenting less narrow merus of the third pereopod, distinct narrowing of the second coxa and expanded second article of the mandibular palp.

Unfortunately, Ampelisca cf. brevicornis from Kuwait has incompletely been described and illustrated ( Al-Yamani et al. 2019). Based on the long posterodistal lobe of the pereopod 7 basis which distinctly overlaps the ischium, and the expanded second article of the mandibular palp, that clearly visible in the published photo (however drawn as slender), this material probably can be attributed to A. persicus sp. nov.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Ampelisca persicus sp. nov., female, 8.5 mm holotype (INIOC2–105S), Gulf of Oman, Iran. Scale bars: a = 0.1 mm, b = 0.5 mm

FIGURE 4. Ampelisca persicus sp. nov., female, 8.5 mm, holotype (INIOC2–105S), Gulf of Oman, Iran.