Ovalipes iridescens (Miers, 1885)

Muñoz, Isabel, García-Isarch, Eva & Cuesta, Jose A., 2021, Annotated and updated checklist of marine crabs (Decapoda: Brachyura) of Mozambique supported by morphological and molecular data from shelf and slope species of the “ MOZAMBIQUE ” surveys, Zootaxa 5056 (1), pp. 1-67 : 41-43

Ovalipes iridescens (Miers, 1885)

( Figure 14B )

Material examined. M07, Stn. 1, 449m, ♂ 83.3× 67.8mm (IEO-CD-MZ07/1921); M08, Stn. 43, 375m, ♀ 84.3× 68.8mm; ♀ 65.5× 55.5mm; ♂ 105.1× 82.2mm (IEO-CD-MZ08/1790); M09, Stn. 17, 419m, ♂ 94.1× 75mm (IEO-CD-MZ09/1809), COI ( MZ 434816 ) .

Habitat and distribution. This species is distributed in the IP: Indonesia, Australia, Japan, and South Africa (Stephenson & Rees 1968), Mozambique ( Kensley 1981) and New Caledonia ( Poupin 2010), mainly at deep waters (Stephenson & Rees 1968), between 80 and 400m ( Emmerson 2016c).

Results and remarks. Ovalipes iridescens specimens were revised following the descriptions of Stepheson & Rees (1968). These specimens were collected between 375 and 449m depth, in the central and southern areas off Mozambique, during the three surveys (M07, M08, M09), and these records extend the maximum depth from 400 up to 449m.

Colouration observed. The specimen was bright orange colour with certain iridescence and with some whitish areas in the posterior half of the carapace. The cardiac, branchial, and gastric regions of the carapace were dark orange, with two lighter oval spots on both sides of the cardiac region. The hepatic area was whitish, with a row of highly accentuated crescent-shaped white dots. Chelipeds were orange, with a large iridescent stain on the merus and white fingers. Ambulatory legs had whitish merus, orange carpus and propodus and orange-brown dactylus. The ventral area of the individual was white. After preservation, in both ethanol and formalin, the specimen turned bone-coloured, keeping the iridescence on certain areas of the carapace and merus.

DNA barcodes. There is a COI sequence for O. iridescens in BOLD ( MDECA 151-10) from a specimen collected in Indonesia ( MNHN IU-200812533) (date of collection: 1991-19-21) identified by Moosa, that only fits 93.57% (39 mutations) with the COI sequence of the specimen IEO-CD-MZ09/1809. However, there is one sequence in BOLD of Ovalipes sp. ( MDECA 064-10), corresponding to one specimen identified by Chan, that was collected in Mozambique during the MB-exp in 2009 (date collection: 2009-04-09) and deposited at the MNHN ( MNHN IU200810370). This sequence fits 97.85% (13 mutations) with ours, being in the limit between inter or intraspecific variability.

Figures

FIGURE 14. A, Chaceon macphersoni, ♀ IEO-CD-MZ09/1812; B, Ovalipes iridescens, ♀ IEO-CD-MZ07/1921. C, Scylla serrata, ♀ IEO-CD-MZ08/2238 (preserved); D, Charybdis africana, ♂ IEO-CD-MZ08/1813; E, Charybdis feriata, ♂ IEO-CD- MZ07/1902 (preserved); F, Charybdis smithii, ♂ IEO-CD-MZ08/1813; G, Monodaeus tuberculidens, ♂ IEO-CD-MZ07/1803. Scale bars: 1cm.