Pyromaia tuberculata ( Lockington, 1877 )

Published, First, 2009, New records of crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) from the New Zealand region, including a new species of Rochinia A. Milne-Edwards, 1875 (Majidae), and a revision of the genus Dromia Weber, 1795 (Dromiidae), Zootaxa 2111, pp. 1-66 : 29-30

Pyromaia tuberculata ( Lockington, 1877)

( Fig. 11)

Inachus tuberculatus Lockington, 1877: 30 .

Pyromaia tuberculata — Rathbun 1925: 133, pl. 40, fig. 3, pl. 218, figs 1–4. — Webber & Wear 1981: 370, figs 209–217 (larval stages). — Wear & Fielder 1985: 28, figs 71–73 (larval stages). — Fransozo & Negreiros-Fransozo 1997: 308, figs 2–7 (larval stages). — McLay 1988: 112, fig. 24. — Lemaitre, Campos & Bermudez 2001: 771 (key). — Davie 2002: 300, 299, unnumbered fig. (pl. 218, fig. 2 from Rathbun, 1925). — Poore 2004: 366.

Material Examined. Whangarei Harbour: 1 juv., 1.1 mm x 1.3 mm, 35° 47ʹS, 174° 24ʹE, pile scraping, WRE134 CB ; 1 male, 7.3 mm x 9.9 mm, 35° 47ʹS, 174° 24ʹE, benthic sled, WRE603 CB .

Auckland Harbour : 1 ovigerous female, 6.6 mm x 8.7 mm, 36° 50ʹS, 174° 52ʹE, benthic sled, AKL512 CB, 4 Apr. 2003 ( NIWA 48748 ); 1 male , 6.0 mm x 8.1 mm, 36° 50ʹS, 174° 52ʹE, benthic sled, AKL514 CB, 4 Apr. 2003 ( NIWA 48746 ); 1 male , 6.0 mm x 7.5 mm, 36° 50ʹS, 174° 52ʹE, benthic sled, AKL516 CB, 7 Apr. 2003 .

Remarks. Pyromaia tuberculata is spreading northwards from Auckland, North I. because it now occurs in Whangarei Harbour. It is distinctive because it is the only shallow-water majid with a simple rostrum consisting of only a single projection.

The ovigerous female from Auckland Harbour carried around 1200 small eggs (diameter = 0.4 mm) in a swollen brood chamber that is large in relation to the rest of the body. A raised rim around the sternum fits tightly with the edges of the abdomen to protect the eggs.

istribution. Pyromaia tuberculata is found in the Eastern Pacific Ocean ( San Francisco , California to Colombia) and Brazil ( Lemaitre et al. 2001); introduced by shipping to Western Australia , Japan ( Sagami Bay ), New Zealand ( Firth of Thames , Tamaki Estuary and now Whangarei Harbour). Depth range is intertidal to 650m.