Desmodromia tranterae McLay, 2001

Mclay, Colin L. & Hosie, Andrew M., 2022, The sponge crabs of Western Australia and the Northwest Shelf with descriptions of new genera and species (Crustacea: Brachyura: Dromiidae), Zootaxa 5129 (3), pp. 301-355 : 324

Desmodromia tranterae McLay, 2001

( Fig. 14A–B )

Desmodromia tranterae McLay, 2001c: 3 , figs. 2a–d, 3b.— Davie, 2002: 161.— McLay & Hosie, 2012: 184, fig. 1.

Material examined. Western Australia: WAM C25544, Dampier Archipelago, Angel Island, dive 8.5 m, 20°27.96’S, 116°49.69’E, 29-10-1998, many sponges and soft corals on pavement, coarse shelly sediment, faviid and Turbinaria coral: male 7.9 × 8.5 mm. WAM C25771, Dampier Archipelago, north coast of Goodwyn Island, collected by hand, intertidal, 20°32’S, 116°32.7’E, 31-08-1999, wide intertidal limestone platform with algal turf, large pools, some loose rocks, “much red and green” (?algae): male 10.2 × 9.8 mm, cockle shell carried Vasticardium vertebratum (Jonas, 1844) (= Acrosterigma reeveanum (Dunker, 1852)) (Family Cardiidae ). [Some details of these records previously reported by McLay & Hosie 2012.]

Diagnosis. Carapace about as wide as long or slightly wider than long, subpentagonal, surface flattened or slightly convex, smooth or finely granulated. Rostrum tridentate, supraorbital margin and anterolateral teeth flattened and eave-like. Chelipeds of similar size to P2, without epipod. Chelipeds and other pereopods armed with long, thin, crest-like ridges. Female sternal sutures ending apart between bases of first walking legs. P4 and P5 reduced, no propodal spines opposing dactyli. All abdominal segments freely movable. Uropods well developed, visible externally and used in abdominal locking mechanism. (After McLay 2001).

Distribution. Desmodromia tranterae carries bivalve shells using its last two pairs of legs in a manner similar to Hypoconcha and Conchoecetes . These prehensile limbs are used by all the species in these genera to carry camouflage, each in their own way.

The holotype of D. tranterae was dredged (14.7 m) off Ninety Mile Beach, between Broome and Wallal in the Kimberley region. The present specimens were collected from the intertidal to 8.5 m on the same coast around 500 km to the south. Desmodromia griffini McLay, 2001 is known from 10 m depth in Darwin Harbour suggesting that this genus is restricted to shallow waters, from the intertidal zone to 15 m, off northwestern Australia.

Figures

FIGURE 14. Desmodromia tranterae McLay 2001, male, 10.2 × 9.8 mm: A, dorsal view; B, frontal view, grasping hinge line of cockle shell (Vasticardium vertebratum (Jonas, 1844)) (after McLay & Hosie 2012).