Munidopsis nitida (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

Taylor, Joanne, Ahyong, Shane T. & Andreakis, Nikos, 2010, New records and new species of the munidopsine squat lobsters (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidae: Munidopsinae) from Australia, Zootaxa 2642, pp. 1-18 : 14-15

Munidopsis nitida (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

( Fig. 4 )

Orophorhynchus nitidus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880: 59 .

Orophorhynchus spinosus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880: 58 [ Dominica, 1797 m].

Munidopsis brevimana Henderson, 1885: 414 [type locality: off Admiralty Islands, 1958 m].

Munidopsis ciliata Wood-Mason , in Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1891: 200 (type locality: Bay of Bengal, 2397 m).

Munidopsis subsquamosa . — Ahyong & Poore, 2004: 59 [Queensland specimens only; not M. subsquamosa Henderson, 1885 ].

Munidopsis nitida . — Baba, 2005: 158, 291, figs 72, 73. — Macpherson 2007: 85.

Material examined. AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND: AM P67839, 1 male (cl. 26.1 mm), 2 females (25.1– 34.1 mm), E of Cape York, 11°25.81´S, 145°29.13´E, 1789–1876 m, beam trawl, 22 Aug. 1988 (FR0688-13), RV Franklin, coll. P. Hutchings et al.

Type locality. Guadeloupe, 1407–1607 m.

Remarks. Ahyong & Poore (2004) reported Munidopsis subsquamosa Henderson, 1885 , from eastern Australia based on a juvenile from New South Wales and three damaged adults from north Queensland. Reexamination of the specimens revealed that the north Queensland specimens are referrable to M. nitida (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880) , constituting the first confirmed record of the species from Australian waters. Munidopsis nitida is readily distinguished from M. subsquamosa by the presence of a serrate crest on the ventral margin of the pollex (crest absent in M. subsquamosa ) and the presence of two eye spines instead of one. Unfortunately, the Australian specimens of M. nitida lack chelipeds, although the eye spines are intact. Munidopsis nitida also closely resembles M. verrilli (type locality: off San Diego), with most obvious distinguishing feature being the length of the chelipeds (cheliped overreached by pereopod 2 in M. nitida versus pereopod 2 almost reaching end of cheliped in M. verrilli ). Specimens of M. nitida lacking chelipeds could be easily mistaken for M. verrilli , though it can be recognised by the presence of an epipod on the cheliped coxa (absent in M. verrilli ) and the presence of distal spines of antennal article 3 (absent in M. verrilli ).

Distribution. Widely distributed in the eastern and western Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. In the Indo-Pacific, ranging from Madagascar and Mozambique to the Bay of Bengal, Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Australia, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Japan and the Gulf of Panama; 222–3680 m (Macpherson 2007).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Carapace (dorsal view) of Munidopsis species reported from Australian waters. M. hirsutissima (based on Baba et al. 2009: fig. 213), M. kensleyi (from Ahyong & Poore 2004: fig. 10), M. levis (from Baba 2005: fig. 71), M. marginata (from Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 4), M. nitida (AM P 67839, female, cl. 25.1 mm), M. proales (from Ahyong & Poore 2004: fig. 12), M. cf. serricornis (from Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 6 B), M. subsquamosa (from Ahyong & Poore 2004: fig. 13), M. tasmaniae (from Ahyong & Poore, 2004: fig. 14), M. treis (from Ahyong & Poore 2004: fig. 15), M. verrilli (from Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 10), M. victoriae (from Baba & Poore 2002: fig. 11).