Sericosura heteroscela? Child & Segonzac, 1996

Wang, Jianjia, Huang, Dingyong, Shi, Xiaofeng, Lin, Rongcheng & Niu, Wentao, 2018, First record and a new species of Sericosura Fry & Hedgpeth, 1969 (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida: Ammotheidae) from a hydrothermal vent of Southwestern Indian Ridge, Zootaxa 4420 (1), pp. 131-138 : 136-137

Sericosura heteroscela? Child & Segonzac, 1996

( Fig. 4 )

Sericosura heteroscela .— Child and Segonzac, 1996, pp. 666, key, pp. 667–671, Figs. 2–3 . — Bamber, 2006, pp. 304. — Bamber, 2009, pp. 64–65 (text and key).

Anisopes heteroscela ( Child, C.A. & M. Segonzac, 1996) .—Turpaeva, 1998, pp. 50–55.

Material examined: juvenile (34IV-TVG0803), Station 34IV-SWIR-S035-TVG08, SWIR, 37.66°S 50.47°E, TV- Grab, 1732 m depth, 13 Apr 2015.

Distribution. Sericosura heteroscela is known from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, including Menez Gwen, Lucky Strike, Rainbow, Snake Pit and Logatchev, at depths from 850 m to 3500 m. If this juvenile was indeed S. heteroscela , the distribution of this species would be extended to the southern hemisphere, thousands kilometers from its type locality.

Remarks. Though the juvenile specimen showed many characters consistent with female of S. heteroscela , we identified the juvenile as this species hesitantly due to a few words on describing juvenile by Child and Segonzac (1996) and the new species, S. duanqiaoensis , was very similar to S. heteroscela . According to the gracile anteriorleaning ocular tubercle with bifurcate top and compact legs, we provisionally assigned this juvenile to S. heteroscela with expectation of more specimens obtained from same hydrothermal field in the future.

Child and Segonzac (1996) described the differences between the adult and juvenile male, and this juvenile, with simple and weak ovigers, we thought were female on the basis of the same legs, short second coxae and setae arrangement on coxa. The chelate located in the “hole” which was expansion of cephalon, and fingers were slender, smooth, very curve and overlapping when closed ( Fig. 4-C, D ).

Many long and white filaments ( Fig. 4-A ), clearly different from setae where observed covering the juvenile, these are similar to those shown by Bamber (2006) and described as filamentous bacteria fouling on S. heteroscela .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Sericosura duanqiaoensis sp. n., 34IV-TVG0802, male holotype: A, trunk, dorsal view; B, trunk, ventral view; C, leg 2; D, leg 3; E, F, palp, lateral view, arrow indicating the protuberance and tubercle.

FIGURE 3. Sericosura bamberi? Arango & Linse, 2015, 34IV-TVG0801, juvenile: A, trunk, dorsal view; B, trunk, ventral view, ovigers (ov); C, anterodorsal view, ocular tubercle (oc), chelifores (ch); D, leg 3; E, F, palp, lateral view, arrow indicating the protuberance and tubercle.

FIGURE 4. Sericosura heteroscela? Child & Segonzac, 1996, 34IV-TVG0803, juvenile: A, trunk, dorsal view, arrow indicating the white filaments; B, leg 3; C, chelifores (ch); D, anterodorsal view, ocular tubercle (oc), chelifores (ch); E, F, palp, lateral view, arrow indicating the protuberance and tubercle.