Petrolisthes edwardsii (de Saussure, 1853 )

Ferreira, Luciane Augusto De Azevedo & Anker, Arthur, 2021, An annotated and illustrated checklist of the porcelain crabs of Panama (Decapoda: Anomura), Zootaxa 5045 (1), pp. 1-154 : 78-80

Petrolisthes edwardsii (de Saussure, 1853)

( Figs. 43 , 44 , 45D–F , 89B, C )

Porcellana edwardsii de Saussure 1853: 366 , pl. 12: fig. 3.

Petrolisthes edwardsii . — Haig 1960: 33, pl. 21 (part.?); Haig 1968: 60 (part.?); Gore & Abele 1976: 21 (part.?); Gore 1982: 12 (part.?); Werding & Haig 1982: 66 (part.?); Hiller et al. 2004: 4 (part.?); Hiller & Werding 2007: 184, figs. 1–3; Lazarus- Agudelo & Cantera-Kintz 2007: 230.

Petrolisthes edwardsi . —Haig 1957: 11 (part.?).

(?) Petrolisthes edwardsii . — Hickman & Zimmerman 2000: 64, unnumbered colour photograph.

(?) Petrolisthes cf. edwardsii .— García-Madrigal & Andréu-Sánchez 2009: 32, fig. 3D.

Material examined. Panama [ Pacific ]: 1 male, cl 15.1, cw 15.7 ( FLMNH UF 57143 ), Coiba Is ., Isla Uva , large bay on west-northwest side, rocky shore and adjacent subtidal flats with rocks and rubble, under rocks, leg. A. Anker et al., 21.02.2019 (fcn PAN-197) ; 1 ov. female, cl 12.5, cw 13.3 ( MZUSP 33684 ), Río Mar , rocky intertidal, low tide, under rocks, leg. A. Anker, J.F. Lazarus-Agudelo & T. Kaji, 19.03.2015 ; 1 male, cl 14.6, cw 15.2 ( MZUSP 33524 ), Las Perlas Is ., Isla Contadora , east end of Playa Galeon, rocky shore, under rocks, leg. A. Anker, J. Luque, A.R. Palmer & T. Kaji, 16.04.2015 .

Previous records from Panama. Haig (1957, 1960, 1968); Gore & Abele (1976); Gore (1982) (but see below).

Distribution. East Pacific: Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama (Coiba Is., Bahía Honda in Veraguas, Río Mar, Ciudad de Panamá, Taboga Is., Las Perlas Is.), Colombia, Ecuador (including Galápagos) and Peru ( Hiller & Werding 2007; present study).

Ecology. Intertidal and shallow subtidal, presently known depth range 0–36 m, usually in waters shallower than 6 m; on rocky shores and mixed rock-rubble-sand bottoms, typically under large rocks and boulders, often encrusted by coralline algae and sponges, or in rock crevices ( Haig 1968; Hiller & Werding 2007; García-Madrigal & Andréu- Sánchez 2009; present study).

Remarks. All records of P. edwardsii prior to the study of Hiller & Werding (2007) are uncertain because of its sympatric co-occurrence with P. donadio , except for the original description and material verified by these authors. As mentioned above, the two species can be most easily distinguished when alive, by their diagnostic colour patterns (cf. Figs. 42–45 ).

The Mexican specimens reported as P. cf. edwardsii by García-Madrigal & Andréu-Sánchez (2009) seem to present a slightly different colour pattern, although the specimen in their colour photograph is clearly discoloured (perhaps from a recent preservation or post-mortem condition) and appears more orange, with less red on the bumps and tubercles (idem: fig. 3D). An in situ photograph of a living crab from Los Cabos, Gulf of California (see Fig. 89B ) shows that the colour pattern of the Mexican specimens is generally very similar to that of the Panamanian specimens, including the characteristic bright-blue and black Mxp3. This observation is important, since Mazatlán, Mexico, is the type locality of P. edwardsii , supporting the view of P. edwardsii as a species widely distributed in the tropical eastern Pacific, ranging from Mexico to Ecuador ( Hiller & Werding 2007). On the other hand, the identity of P. cf. edwardsii of García-Madrigal & Andréu-Sánchez (2009) remains uncertain. The same is true for the specimen from Galápagos identified as P. edwardsii in Hickman & Zimmerman (2000), with a slightly different colour pattern on the P2–P4 propodi.

Figures

FIGURE 42. Petrolisthes donadio Hiller & Werding, 2007: A–C, ovigerous female (cl 10.7 mm, cw 10.1 mm) from Coiba Island, Panama (FLMNH UF 57711), dorsal (A), ventral (B) and frontal (C) views [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 43. Petrolisthes edwardsii (Saussure, 1853): A–C, male (cl 15.1 mm, cw 15.7 mm) from Coiba Island, Panama (FLMNH UF 57143), dorsal (A), ventral (B) and frontodorsal (C) views [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 44. Petrolisthes edwardsii (Saussure, 1853): A, B, ovigerous female (cl cw indet.) from Taboga Island, Panama (not deposited), dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 45. Comparison of anterior regions of Petrolisthes donadio Hiller & Werding, 2007 [A–C] and Petrolisthes edwardsii (Saussure, 1853) [D –F]: A–C ovigerous female (cl 10.7 mm, cw 10.1 mm) from Coiba Island, Panama (FLMNH UF 57711); D–F, male (cl 15.1 mm, cw 15.7 mm) from Coiba Island, Panama (FLMNH UF 57143); A, D, frontal region of carapace, antennules and Mxp3, dorsal view; B, E, Mxp3 and antennules, ventral view; C, F, frontal region with Mxp3 and other mouthparts, frontal view [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 89. Some eastern Pacific Porcellanidae (all species reported from Panama) photographed in situ: A, Pachycheles vicarius Nobili, 1901, Bahía Málaga, Colombia; B, C, Petrolisthes edwardsii (de Saussure, 1853), Los Cabos, Baja California, Mexico (B), and Malpelo Island, Colombia (C); D, Petrolisthes donadio Hiller & Werding, 2007, Malpelo Island, Colombia, near sea urchin, Diadema mexicanum Agassiz; E, Petrolisthes glasselli Haig, 1957, Malpelo Island, Colombia; F, Petrolisthes haigae Chace, 1962, Malpelo Island, Colombia [photographs courtesy of Juan-Felipe Lazarus-Agudelo (A, C–F) and Jeff Goddard (B)].