Thalamita intermedia Miers, 1886

Manikandan, K, Megalaa, N, Valliappan, Subramanian, Nandini, K, Rani, Lourdu V, Dakshinamurthi, Senthil & Nagappan, Nagappan, 2022, Crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Seas of East and Southeast Asia Collected by the RV Hakuhō Maru (KH- 72 - 1 Cruise) 3. Sahul Shelf, Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Series A, Zoology 48 (2), pp. 35-83 : 64

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.50826/bnmnszool.48.2_35
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13824411
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/4B248785-4227-A52C-3ADC-A742296BF9DB
treatment provided by	Felipe (2024-06-17 16:57:54, last updated 2024-11-29 10:05:28)
scientific name	Thalamita intermedia Miers, 1886
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Treatment

Thalamita intermedia Miers, 1886 View in CoL

( Fig. 14A–C View Fig )

Material examined. RV Hakuhō Maru KH-72-1 cruise, sta. 29, 1 Ə ( CB 12.7 mm including lateral teeth×CL 8.6 mm), 1$damaged (CL 12.5 mm), NSMT-Cr 30737.

Remarks. The carapace of one of the specimens of Thalamita intermedia examined is damaged at the left anterolateral part, but the frontal and right anterolateral portions and the chelipeds agree well with those of another specimen ( Fig. 14A–C View Fig ). This small species is rare, but has been well pictured by the original author ( Miers, 1886: 196, pl. 16 fig. 1), and Stephenson and Hudson (1957: 41, fig. 4, pl. 3 fig. 4, pl. 10 fig. G).

Thalamita intermedia View in CoL is characteristic in having four-lobed front with straight margin; the lateral lobe is separated from the median lobe by a small notch and slightly less than twice as wide as the median lobe; the carapace is narrow, with the anterolateral sharp teeth obliquely directed outward; the carapace fourth anterolateral tooth is the smallest, but distinct; the first male pleopod is straight for its distal half, with the tip truncated. Due to the four-lobed front, T. annulipes Stephenson and Hudson, 1957 View in CoL , T. sexlobata Miers, 1886 View in CoL , T. malaccensis Gordon, 1938 View in CoL are rather similar to T. intermedia View in CoL . However, they are distinguished from M. intermedia View in CoL by the following key characters: the frontal median lobe is slightly more than half breadth of the lateral lobe, projecting beyond the lateral lobe ( T. annulipes), the frontal median lobe is rather convex anteriorly and the lateral lobe is concave anteriorly ( T. malaccensis View in CoL ), the carapace is rather wide, with a prominent last anterolateral tooth, and the fourth anterolateral tooth is rudimentary ( T. sexlobata).

The other reliable records of T. intermedia View in CoL are those by Ortmann (1894), Rathbun (1924) and Hale (1927) as quoted above, and it is difficult to confirm the identity of two queried records by Alcock (1899) from Sri Lanka and Holthuis (1953) from the Marshall Islands.

Distribution. Australian waters: Torres Strait, Queensland, Western Australia and Great Australian Bight, ca. 5–25 m depth. The record of this species appeared in Sukmaningrum et al. (2018, fig. 1J) dealing with crab diversity in the intertidal zone at Gunungkidul, Java Island, Indonesia, is highly probable.

References

Alcock, A. 1899. Materials for a carcinological funa of India. No. 4. The Brachyura Cyclometopa, Part 2. A revision of the Cyclometopa with an account of the families Portunidae, Cancridae, and Corystidae. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (II) 68: 1 - 104.

Gordon, I. 1938. On three species of Portunidae (Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Malay Peninsula. Bulletin of the Raffles Museum 14: 175 - 185.

Hale, H. M. 1927. The Crustaceans of South Australia. Part I. Handbooks of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia, issued by the British Science Guild (South Australian Branch) and published by favor of the Honorable the Premier, Adelaide, 380 pp.

Holthuis, L. B. 1953. Enumeration of the decapod and stomatopod Crustacea from Pacific coral islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 24: 1 - 66.

Miers, E. J. 1886. Report on the Brachyura collected by H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873 - 76. In: Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the Years 1873 - 1876 under the Command of Captain George S. Nares, N. R., F. R. S. and the late Captain Frank Tourle Thomson, R. N. prepared under the Superintendence of the late Sir C. Wyville Thomson, Knt., F. R. S. & c. Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh of the Civilian Scientific Staff on Board and now of John Murray, one of the naturalists of the Expedition. Zool- ogy. Published by Order of Her Majesty`s Government 17: i-L, 1 - 362, pls. 1 - 29.

Ortmann, A. 1894. Crustaceen. In: Semon, R., Zoologische Forshungsreisen in Australien und dem Malayischen Archipel 5: 1 - 80, pls. 1 - 3.

Rathbun, M. J. 1924. Results of Dr. E. Mjoberg`s Swedish scientific expeditions to Australia 1910 - 1913. 37. Brachyura, Albuneidae and Porcellanidae. Arkiv for Zoologi 16 (23): 1 - 33, pl. 1.

Sukmaningrum, T., B. K. Adji, E. M. Pratiwi, B. Larasati, P. R. Sayekti, I. Maulana and R. Eprilurahman 2018. Diversity of crabs in the intertidal zone at Sundak Beach, Gunungkidul, Indonesia. AIP Conference Proceedings 2002 020066: 1 - 5.

Figures

Fig. 14.ɹA–C: Thalamita intermedia Miers, Ə (NSMT-Cr 30737; CB 12.7×CL 8.6mm) from sta. 29. Dorsal view (A), right anterolateral teeth (B), and front-orbital margin (C). D–F: Thalamita sima H. Milne Edwards, Ə (NSMT-Cr 30738; CB 20.2×CL 14.0mm)from sta. 30. Dorsal view (D), frontal margin (E), and both chelae (F).