Neoleptastacus huysi ( Karanovic, 2000 ), 2008

Sak, Serdar, Karaytuğ, Süphan & Huys, Rony, 2024, Review of Neoleptastacus Nicholls, 1945 (Harpacticoida, Arenopontiidae), including an updated key to species and proposal of Phreatipontia gen. nov., Zootaxa 5525 (1), pp. 1-66 : 30

Neoleptastacus huysi ( Karanovic, 2000)

Arenopontia (Neoleptastacus) huysi Karanovic, 2000

Neoleptastacus huysi ( Karanovic, 2000) Sak et al. (2008: 412)

Original description. Karanovic (2000): 34–36; Figs 1–13 (♀ only).

Type locality. Montenegro, Ulcinj Municipality, Island of Ada Bojana , near Ulcinj ; 41°51’30” N, 19°21’10” E; sandy beach.

Body length. 320 μm (♀).

Remarks. The species has not been recorded again since its original description which was based on a single ovigerous female. The combined presence of an inner seta on P2 enp-2 and two distal elements on P3 enp-2 places N. huysi in the acanthus -subgroup, together with N. acanthus and N. chaufriassei . Karanovic (2000) considered the species most closely related to N. acanthus but did not provide evidence for this, probably because the latter was conceived at the time as a species that displayed significant variability. Neoleptastacus huysi differs from the other two members of the acanthus -subgroup by the presence of three elements on P1 exp-3 (instead of four), a condition that is shared with the unrelated trisetosus -group ( Table 2 ). Karanovic (2000) described the spatulate caudal ramus seta VII as “aesthetasc-like” and erroneously used it as a character to differentiate N. huysi from N. acanthus . Some armature elements on the antennule were overlooked on most segments (particularly 1, 2, 3 and 6). The author also stated “Hind margins of all body somites smooth. First, second and third free thoracic somites with a chitinous suture dorsolaterally, which bears a row of very fine spinules”. The spinular rows referred to by Karanovic in reality represent the crenulated hyaline frills on these somites while the strongly developed abdominal frills, consisting of rectangular digitate lappets, were obviously overlooked. The linear egg-sac of the holotype female contained three eggs. The species is potentially conspecific with N. acanthus (see above).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Neoleptastacus acanthus (Chappuis, 1954) (♀): (A) habitus, dorsal; (B) habitus, lateral; (C) rostrum, dorsal.

FIGURE 2. Neoleptastacus acanthus (Chappuis, 1954): (A) habitus (♂), dorsal; (B) anal somite and caudal rami (♀), dorsal; (C) anal somite and left caudal ramus (♀), lateral; (D) antenna (♀), medial; (E) antennary endopod (♀), outer. [Lateral spines of antennary endopod indicated by arrows in D–E]

FIGURE 3. Neoleptastacus acanthus (Chappuis, 1954): (A) antennule (♀), dorsal; (B) antennule (♂), ventral. [spatulate setae indicated by arrows]

FIGURE 4. Neoleptastacus acanthus (Chappuis, 1954) (♀): (A) P1, anterior; (B) P2, anterior; (C) P3, anterior; (D) P4, anterior.

FIGURE 5. Neoleptastacus acanthus (Chappuis, 1954): (A) urosome (♀), ventral [caudal ramus seta V figured at full length in inset]; (B) urosome (♂), ventral.

FIGURE 6. Neoleptastacus emendatus sp. nov. (♀): (A) habitus, dorsal; (B) habitus, lateral; (C) anal somite and caudal rami, dorsal; (D) anal somite and right caudal ramus, lateral.

FIGURE 7. Neoleptastacus emendatus sp. nov. (♀): (A) urosome, ventral; (B) antennule, dorsal; (C) antenna, outer; (D) antennary endopod, medial; (E) rostrum, dorsal; (F) midventral hook-like processes [indicated by arrows] on pedigerous somites; (G) hook-like process, lateral. [lateral endopodal spines indicated by arrows in C–D]

FIGURE 8. Neoleptastacus emendatus sp. nov. (♀): (A) P1, anterior; (B) P2, anterior; (C) P3, anterior; (D) P4, anterior.

FIGURE 9. Neoleptastacus supersetosus sp. nov. (♀): (A) habitus, lateral; (B) antenna, medial [lateral endopodal spines indicated by arrows]; (C) antennary endopod, outer [lateral spines omitted]; (D) P1, anterior; (E) P2, anterior [outer spine of exp-1 broken]; (F) P3, anterior; (G) P4, anterior.

FIGURE 10. Neoleptastacus supersetosus sp. nov.: (A) urosome (♀), ventral [arrow indicating copulatory pore]; (B) urosome (♂), ventral.

FIGURE 11. Neoleptastacus supersetosus sp. nov.: (A) habitus (♂), lateral; (B) rostrum and cephalothorax (♀), dorsal; (C) anal somite and caudal rami (♀), dorsal; (D) anal somite and left caudal ramus (♀), lateral; (E) antennule (♀), dorsal; (F) antennule (♂), dorsal.

FIGURE 12. Phreatipontia phreatica (Cottarelli, Bruno & Venanzetti, 1994) comb. nov. (♀): (A) habitus, lateral; (B) habitus, dorsal; (C) anal somite and caudal rami, dorsal [arrow indicating modified seta IV]: (D) anal somite and right caudal ramus, lateral.

FIGURE 13. Phreatipontia phreatica (Cottarelli, Bruno & Venanzetti, 1994) comb. nov.: (A) antennule (♀), dorsal; (B) antenna (♀), medial [lateral endopodal spines indicated by arrows]; (C) antenna (♀), outer; (D) antennule (♂), anterior; (E) antennule (♂), dorsal.