Drachiella morum ( Alcock, 1896 )

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 : 42-43

Drachiella morum ( Alcock, 1896)

( Fig. 1F )

Material examined. RV Hakuhō Maru KH-72-1 cruise, sta. 29, 1♀ ( CB 8.0×CL 7.0 mm), NSMT-Cr 30701.

Remarks. As discussed by Takeda and Tachikawa (1995), six representatives of the genus Drachiella Guinot , in Serène and Soh, 1976, are characterized by differences in the carapace dorsal surface sculptured peculiarly by deep grooves defining distinct areolations. Concerning Drochiella morum, Serène (1954 : figs. 1–2, pl. 7, as Actaeomorpha ) noted that the carapace dorsal surface is covered with mushroom-like tubercles differing from the simple tubercles of various size in congeneric species.

Drachiella morum was originally described by Alcock (1896: 172, pl. 8 fig. 3, as Actaeomorpha), and later recorded as Oreophorus by Yokoya (1933) and Sakai (1976), as Actaeomorpha by Chopra (1934), Sakai (1937, 1965), Serène (1954), Zarenkov (1969), and Takeda and Miyake (1970), and as Drachiella by Serène and Soh (1976), Dai and Yang (1991), and Chen and Sun (2002).

The present specimen examined ( Fig. 1F ) is a young female, but agrees well with the specimens recorded in the literature.

Distribution. Indo-West Pacific from Japan to India, through the East China Sea, Viet Nam, the Andaman Sea off Thailand, and now from Australia; 25–156 m depth. Chen and Sun (2002) recorded numerous specimens from the East and South China Seas.

Figures

Fig. 1.ɹA–C: Cryptodromia amboinensis De Man, ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30697; CB 4.5×CL 4.2mm) from sta. 29. Dorsal (A), frontal (B) and frontal upper (C) views. D: Urnalana whitei (Bell), ♂ (NSMT-Cr 30704; CB 6.6×CL 7.2mm) from sta. 29. E: Myra australis Haswell, ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30703; CB 9.7×CL 11.1mm including posterior tubercle) from sta. 29. F: Drachiella morum (Alcock), ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30701; CB 8.0×CL 7.0mm) from sta. 29.