Iphinoe rhodaniensis Ledoyer, 1965

Mazziotti, Cristina & Lezzi, Marco, 2020, The cumacean genus Iphinoe (Crustacea: Peracarida) from Italian waters and I. daphne n. sp. from the northwestern Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean, Zootaxa 4766 (2), pp. 331-357 : 346-347

Iphinoe rhodaniensis Ledoyer, 1965

Iphinoe rhodaniensis Ledoyer 1965: 255–258 , pl. 17, pl. 18 fig.7–8; Ledoyer 1983: 70. fig. 2r; Corbera and Cardell 1995; Corbera & García-Rubies 1998: Figs. 4D ;8.

Material examined. 1 adult male, 3 ovigerous females, 3 preparatory males, st. 1; 1 ovigerous female, st. 3; 1 preparatory male, 7 adult males, st. 4; 1 adult male, 1 preparatory male, 1 ovigerous female, st. 6; 3 adult male, st. 7; 4 adult males, st. 8; 3 adult males, 3 preparatory males, st. 9; 2 adult males; 1 ovigerous female, st. 11; 2 adult males, 3 preparatory males, st. 12; 3 adult males, st. 13; 3 adult males, st. 14; 2 adult males, 1 preparatory male, 1 subadult female, st. 26; 1 adult male, st. 27; 2 adult males, 1 preparatory males, 5 ovigerous females, 7 subadult females, st. 29; 1 adult male, 4 ovigerous females, st. 39.

Remarks. Ledoyer (1965) described Iphinoe rhodaniensis as being distinguishable from other Iphinoe species by the presence of 2 terminal aesthetascs on antenna 1, like I. crassipes . Moreover, it is characterized by an armed dorsal carina in males and a CL/CD ratio of about 2.5, instead of 1.5 as it is in I. crassipes .

Distribution and ecology. Iphinoe rhodaniensis is present in the western Mediterranean, Gulf of Lyons (Ledoy- er 1965, 1968, 1983), Fos Bay ( Macquart-Moulin 1991), and Barcelone ( Corbera & Cardell 1995); its distribution has been associated with areas enriched with organic matter (Corbera & Garcia-Rubies 1995). In fact, Corbera & Garcia-Rubies (1995) report the presence of I. rhodaniensis around the Medes Islands due to the closeness of the Ter river mouth as well as by the large quantities of organic matter which the islands’ large colony of Larus cachinnans contributes to the marine environment. Up to now the known occurrence of I. rhodaniensis had been confined to areas 1 and 3 of the Bianchi (2004) classification ( Marusso 2006). The present study extends its distribution to sectors 2, 8 and 9 ( Table 3 ).

Iphinoe rhodaniensis prefers muddy bottoms typical of the circalittoral zone, at a depth ranging from 20 to 40 m ( Corbera & Cardell 1995). It was observed that I. rhodaniensis predominates in polluted areas and disturbed areas ( Corbera & Cardell 1995) identified using polychaetes (Ros & Cardell 1992). Indeed, in the procedure for the calculation of the AMBI index (vers. 5.0, June 2017 www.ambi.azti.es), I. rhodaniensis is the only Iphinoe species to be classified in ecological group IV (‘opportunistic species, typically deposit feeders’), underlining its preference for substrates with a high content of organic matter ( Borja et al. 2004). Our records at stations 11, 12, 13, 14, 27 and 29 ( Table 1 ) show that I. rhodaniensis occurs on VTC and DL, at a depth ranging between 13 and 40 m, confirming its tendency to be present in sheltered areas.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Sternal process of Iphinoe daphne n. sp. Holotype adult male MZB1008. Scale bars: A: 500 µm; 100 µm.