Ethusa cf. abbreviata, Castro, 2005

Castro, Peter, 2005, Crabs of the subfamily Ethusinae Guinot, 1977 (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura, Dorippidae) of the Indo-West Pacific region, Zoosystema 27 (3), pp. 499-600 : 512-513

Ethusa cf. abbreviata

( Fig. 3 )

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Solomon Islands. SALOMON 1, stn CP 1783, 08°32.8’S, 160°41.7’E, Wof Molaita, 399-700 m, 29.IX.2001, 2 juv.

cl 7.6 mm, cw 7.7 mm and cl 7.5 mm, cw 7.5 mm respectively, 1 juv. cl 7. 5 mm, cw 7.6 mm ( MNHN-B 28702).

REMARKS

Three juvenile specimens from the Solomon Is shared several characters with Ethusa abbreviata n. sp., in particular, a short endostome in which the anterior end is well below the posterior bor- der of the antennular fossae of the basal antennular articles, relatively short and thick P2 and P3 (length of P2 meri 0.8-0.9 times cl, P2 meri 4.6 times longer than broad; 0.8-1.0 and 3.8-4.6 respectively for E. abbreviata n. sp.), and broad orbital sinuses.

There are, however, some differences. The outer orbital teeth are triangular and relatively broad and the orbital sinuses are slightly V-shaped ( Fig. 3A ), while the outer orbital teeth are long and slender and the orbital sinuses U-shaped in E. abbreviata n. sp. ( Fig. 2A ). The G1 ( Fig. 3B ) are undeveloped and as such of little help in the identification of the specimens. Since all of the material identified as E. abbreviata n. sp. is of a relatively large size (males cl 13.3 mm to 15.7 mm, cw 14.2 mm to 16.0 mm; females cl 13.6 mm to 17.0 mm, cw 14.4 mm to 18.2 mm) some of the differences may be due to size. The material is thus left undescribed but with the anticipation that the finding of intermediate-size specimens will help elucidate its identity.

Figures

FIG. 3. — Ethusa cf. abbreviata, juv. cl 7.6 mm, cw 7.7 mm, Solomon Islands, N of Guadalcanal, SALOMON 1, stn CP 1783, 399-700 m (MNHN-B 28702); A, dorsal surface of carapace; B, left G1, dorsal view. Scale bars: A, 5 mm; B, 1 mm.

FIG. 2. — Ethusa abbreviata n. sp., holotype cl 13.8 mm, cw 14.5 mm, Vanuatu, N of Espiritu Santo, MUSORSTOM 8, stn CP 1124, 532-599 m (MNHN-B 27505); A, dorsal surface of carapace; B, ventral view of anterior portion of body; C, left G1, dorsal views; D, left G2, dorsal view. Scale bars: A, 5 mm; B-D, 2 mm.