Pullosquilla litoralis (Michel & Manning, 1971)

Wang, Jing-Wen & Chiou, Tsyr-Huei, 2017, Three new records of Nannosquillidae from Taiwan with notes on their ecology (Crustacea, Stomatopoda, Lysiosquilloidea), ZooKeys 721, pp. 33-43 : 34

Pullosquilla litoralis (Michel & Manning, 1971) Figs 1, 2, 3

Austrosquilla litoralis Michel & Manning, 1971: 237-239, fig. 1.

Pullosquilla litoralis : Manning 1978: 19-20; Ahyong 2001: 165-166, fig. 82.

Material examined.

NMNS-7834-001, 1 female (TL 11.8 mm), April 2014. NCKU-0103-01, 1 male (TL 13.1 mm); NCKU-0103-02, 1 female (TL 8.8 mm), November 2014. NMNS-7834-002, 1 female (TL 15.7 mm); NMNS-7834-003, 1 male (TL 13.7 mm); NMNS-7834-004, 1 male (TL 18.0 mm), July 2017.

Diagnosis.

Cornea subglobular. Eyes extending to the end of the A1 peduncle. Rostral plate with acute apex; triangular-shaped, broader than long. Ocular scale fused along midline. Dorsal processes of A1 somite forming long triangular lobes directed anterolaterally (Fig. 2A).

Rostral claw dactylus with 10-12 teeth. Propodus occlusal margin pectinate, with four movable spines proximally. Distal end of ischium ventrally armed with a short spine (Fig. 2B). Basal segments of pereiopods 1-3 with short lateroventral spine. Mandibular palp absent; five epipods present.

AS6 without ventrolateral spine anterior to the uropod articulation (Fig. 2C). Telson with median semi-circular projection and submedian projection, acute in males greater than 13 mm but blunt in females. Posterior margin of telson with one pair of movable submedian teeth and 7-9 submedian denticles on either side of midline. Posterolateral margins of telson with two pairs of fixed primary teeth, of which lateral primary teeth are smaller than intermediate ones, and with one lateral and four intermediate denticles (Fig. 2D).

Uropodal protopod with single distal spine at inner margin above articulation of exopod; inner primary spine longer than outer. Outer margin of proximal uropodal exopod segment with three curved, movable spines, inner margin with 2-4 stiff setae. Exopod distal segment ovate and elongated. Endopod subtriangular and elongated (Fig. 2C, D).

Distribution.

French Polynesia and Australia to the Western Indian Ocean ( Ahyong 2001), and now Taiwan. Currently, Taiwan is the northernmost habitat known for P. litoralis .

Remarks.

The specimens of P. litoralis from Taiwan agree well with the female holotype reported in Michel and Manning (1971) and other collections described in Manning (1978) and Ahyong (2001). In addition to sexual dimorphic coloration in their chromophores ( Ahyong 2001), it was observed that the shape of submedian projections on the telson also differ between sexes. By comparing the adult male and female specimens with TL greater than 13 mm, it is noticeable that the posterior margin form blunt and short submedian projections in females, while males bear acute and long submedian projections, which protrude beyond the median lobe of the telson (Fig. 3).