Balsscallichirus masoomi ( Tirmizi, 1970 )

Al-Kandari, Manal, Anker, Arthur, Hussain, Sumaiah, Al-Yassen, Sharifa, Sattari, Zainab & Grave, Sammy De, 2020, New records of decapod crustaceans from Kuwait (Malacostraca: Decapoda), Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 251-280 : 267-270

Balsscallichirus masoomi ( Tirmizi, 1970)

( Fig. 12 )

Callianassa (Callichirus) masoomi Tirmizi, 1970: 245 , figs. 1–3.

Podocallichirus masoomi . — Sakai 1999: 58; Sakai 2005: 192; Sepahvand & Sari 2010: 47, fig. 5.

Tirmizicallichirus masoomi . — Sakai 2011: 475; Naderloo & Türkay 2012: 18 .

Callichirus masoomi . — Sepahvand et al. 2013: 5; Sepahvand et al. 2014: 142.

Balsscallichirus masoomi . — Hyžný 2016: 43, fig. 3.

Callianassa (Callichirus) kewalramanii Sankolli, 1971: 94 , fig. 5.

Material examined. Kuwait: 1 female, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.036, Failaka Island , eastern side, 29°23.409’N 48°23.927’E, shallow subtidal partly exposed at low tide (0–0.3 m), muddy bottom close to rocky platform, suction (yabby) pump, in burrow, together with Salmoneus sp. nov., leg. A. Anker, 03.x.2019 [fcn KUW-067] ; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.037, same collection details [fcn KUW-062] ; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.038, same collection details [fcn KUW-075] ; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.039, same collection details [fcn KUW-072]; 1 ov. female (pleon somewhat damaged), OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.040 , Kuwait City, Ras Ajuzah , 29°23.656’N 47°59.840’E, sand-mud-rock intertidal and adjacent shallow subtidal (less than 0.3 m at low tide), muddy sand, suction (yabby) pump, in burrow, leg. A. Anker & M. Nithyanandan, 25.ix.2019 [fcn KUW-028] ; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.041, same collection details [fcn KUW-026] ; 1 female, MNHN-IU-2019-3184, Failaka Island , eastern side, shallow subtidal flat partly exposed at low tide (0–0.3 m), suction (yabby) pump, in burrow, leg. A. Anker, 12.ii.2020 [fcn FA-017] ; 1 female (missing posterior part of pleon), KISR, Al-Shaab , rocky intertidal, low tide, leg. M. Al-Kandari et al., 19.i.2014 .

General distribution. Northern Indian Ocean: India (near Mumbai), Pakistan (near Karachi) and the Arabian Gulf ( Iran, Kuwait) ( Sepahvand et al. 2013; present study).

Ecology. Intertidal and shallow subtidal; sandy or sandy-muddy bottoms, in burrows.

Remarks. Balsscallichirus masoomi appears to be the most common ghost shrimp in northern Kuwait ( Kuwait City area, Failaka Island). Among the two callianassids presently known from Kuwait, B. masoomi can be recognised by the ventrally serrated carpus of the major cheliped ( Fig. 12C ) and the centrally convex posterior margin of the telson ( Fig. 12D ). The spacious burrows of B. masoomi occasionally host a small alpheid shrimp, Salmoneus ikaros , recently described based on a single specimen extracted from this ghost shrimp’s burrow ( Anker et al. 2020).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Balsscallichirus masoomi (Tirmizi, 1970): A—female from Failaka Island, Kuwait (OUMNH.ZC. 2020.01.036), dorsal view; B—same, lateral view; C—same, major cheliped (detached), lateral view; D—same, sixth pleonite and tail fan, dorsal view. Photographs by A. Anker.