Anoplodactylus glandulifer Stock, 1954

Müller, Hans-Georg & Krapp, Franz, 2009, The pycnogonid fauna (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) of the Tayrona National Park and adjoining areas on the Caribbean coast of Colombia 2319, Zootaxa 2319 (1), pp. 1-138 : 95-97

Anoplodactylus glandulifer Stock, 1954

Fig. 50

Anoplodactylus glandulifer Stock, 1954: 273 . Stock 1958: 3. Stock 1968: 49. Arnaud 1973: 955. Stock 1974: 16. Child

1982: 273. Child 1988: 59. Nakamura & Child 1988: 813. Child 1990: 331. Müller 1990: 74. Child 1991: 143. Anoplodactylus multiclavus Child, 1977: 593 . Child 1979: 58. Child 1982: 372. Stock 1986: 404, 439.

Material: 14.— 1 male (gravid) ( SMF 1525 ), coral rubble, 1.5–5 m, 7.I.1986 .

21.— 4 males (2 ov.), 3 fem. ( SMF 1526), on Digenia simplex , 5l of substratum, mesolittoral, 8.XI.1985. 22.— 1 male (ov.) ( ZMA 3358) ( ZMA 3358), from Halimeda on reef top, mesolittoral, 14.IV.1986. 24.—1 fem. (gravid) ( SMF 1527), Thalassia with corallinaceans and Cnidoscyphus , 1–2 m, 9.VIII.1985. 37.— 1 male (ov.) ( MNHN), on algae, hydroids and detritus, 6 m, 4.VI.1985.

Description of male: Dorsal trunk outline oval, rather robust; segments 3 and 4 fused. Crurigers 1–3 bearing dorsodistally feebly developed tubercles; all crurigers with 1 or 2 short dorso-distal setae; crurigers slightly longer than their diameter, anterior three separated by 1/2 of their diameter, the third separated from the fourth by 1/3 of their diameter. Ocular process three times higher than its diameter, anteriorly inclined, with large distinctly pigmented eyes; distal part of ocular process narrowing to a lappet; abdomen of similar length to ocular process, erect or slightly inclined to the rear, 4 short apical setae. Proboscis robust, distinctly curved and apically broadly rounded.

Scape of cheliphores slender, somewhat longer than proboscis; chela slender, its fingers strongly curved; cutting edge of immovable and moveable fingers armed with 3 (usually) and 4 pointed teeth respectively. Oviger 6-articled, relatively robust; 3 rd article the longest, 1.2 times as long as 2 nd; 4 th article of combined length of 5 th and 6 th; articles 5 and 6 with sparsely distributed setae distally directed; distal article slender, conical, apically pointed.

Legs moderately robust, feebly setose; but femur and tibiae each with a long dorso-distal seta; coxae 1 and 3 subequal in length, about as long as their diameter, 2/3 of length of coxa 2; femur longest and most robust article, with dorso-median row of 2–5 cement gland ducts shaped like a capsule in its proximal half; tibiae 1 and 2 of equal length; tarsus as long as broad, with 5 ventro-distal setae; propodus with well developed heel, distally with two robust and one slender spine, as well some setae; sole almost straight, usually with 3 small, anteriorly-curved proximal spines; on distal 2/3 of sole with long cutting lamella, with adjacent setae on both sides; main claw robust, feebly curved, extending over proximal spines of sole but not reaching to heel; auxiliaries 1/8 length of terminal claw.

Colouration of most specimens pale green.

Measurements: Trunk length 0.78; trunk width 0.55 (across first crurigers); length of abdomen 0.23; length of cheliphore scape 0.25; length of chela 0.14; length of articles of leg 3: coxa 1—0.18; coxa 2—0.32; coxa 3—0.19; femur 0.56; tibia 1, 0.43; tibia 2, 0.43; tarsus 0.07; propodus 0.36; main claw 0.24; auxiliary claw 0.04.

Female: Apart from sex-specific characters in habitus like male. The shorter propodal cutting lamella noted by Child (1979: 58, Fig. 19 ) on females from Panamá could not be found on Colombian material. The development of this lamella in females conformed exactly with that of males.

Remarks: Anoplodactylus glandulifer STOCK, 1954 from the tropical Indo-Pacific and A. multiclavus Child, 1977 from the Caribbean were regarded as very closely related species. All characters used by Child (1977b: 593) to differentiate multiclavus from Stock’s species proved to be variable and found in glandulifer , too, so it is now considered a junior synonym of glandulifer . The number of cement gland ducts in the holotype of glandulifer from Singapore varied on different legs between 2–4. Examination of further material from Kenya and Colombia by the first author found a variability between 2–5 ducts. Contrary to the remark in the original description of glandulifer , the anterior 3 trunk segments in the holotype are clearly separated. In the recent database by Bamber & El Nagar (2007) (http://www.marinespecies.org/pycnobase/ aphia.php?p=taxlist) the two species have already been synonymized. The species is possibly related to Anoplodactylus bourboni Müller, 1990 from La Réunion in the tropical southern Indian Ocean. The habitus in both species is similar, but the proboscis of A. bourboni is significantly longer. The strongly curved chela fingers in A. bourboni are untoothed. The cement gland ducts on femur consist of 7 dorso-median cup-like structures, differing characteristically from those found in A. glandulifer . The propodal sole in A. bourboni has 7 spines, and as a consequence the distal lamella is short (cf. Müller 1990e: 98, Figs. 1–6 ).

In the research area A. glandulifer was found sporadically, without any pronounced preference of substratum or a distinct reproduction period. The vertical distribution ranges from the intertidal zone to 6 m. Data in the literature clearly indicate that the species is restricted to the uppermost shallow water region.

Distribution: Tropical Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. In the Caribbean the species was known form the U.S. Virgin Islands (Child 1977b: 593), the Atlantic coast of Panamá and Mexico ( Child 1979: 58), Belize (Child 1982: 372) and St. Vincent ( Stock 1986: 399).

Figures

FIGURE 1. A, External morphology of a pycnogonid, exemplified by Ascorhynchus castelli (Dohrn, 1881) male, after Müller & Roth (1990: 164), slightly modified; abd—abdomen, ch cheliphore, l3 leg 3, lp—cruriger of leg 2, pl—palp, pr—proboscis, ov—oviger; B, proximal part of leg 3 of Anoplodactylus guachaquitae n. sp., male: cd—cement gland duct on dorsal face of femur.

FIGURE 2. Achelia gracilis Verrill, 1900. A, male dorsal, B, female dorsal, C, male lateral, D, male cheliphore, E, female oviger, F, male oviger. Scale 200 mm for A–C, 50 mm for D–E, 100 mm for F.

FIGURE 3. Achelia gracilis Verrill, 1900. A, male palp, B, leg 3 of male, C, leg 3 of female, D, cement gland duct, E, tarsus and propodus of male leg 3.

FIGURE 4. Achelia sawayai Marcus, 1940. A, male dorsal, B, male dorsal, C, female dorsal, D, female dorsal, E, male lateral, F, male cheliphore, G, male palp.

FIGURE 5. Achelia sawayai Marcus, 1940. A, male leg 3, B, cement gland duct on male leg enlarged, C, tarsus and propodus of male leg 3, D, female leg 3, E, tarsus and propodus of female leg 3, F, male oviger, G, female oviger.

FIGURE 6. Ammothella appendiculata (Dohrn, 1881). A, male dorsal, B, male lateral, C, male cheliphore, D, female oviger, E, distal female oviger articles, F, male oviger, G, distal articles of male oviger, H, male palp, I, male leg 3, J, femur with eggs of female.

FIGURE 19. Tanystylum geminum Stock, 1954: A male oviger, B female oviger.

FIGURE 50. Anoplodactylus glandulifer Stock, 1954, male: A ovigerous specimen, trunk lateral, B trunk dorsal, C chela, D oviger, E leg 3, F femur with two cement gland pores, G cement gland pores in lateral view, H tarsus and propodus.