Dimorphostylis sp.

(Fig. 4)

Material examined. 1 preparatory female, 5.3 mm, dissected (NSMT-Cr 21690), off Kii Peninsula, 33˚27.01´N, 135˚34.15´E, 411–450 m (KT-05-30, St. SS-1), 25 November 2005; 1 young male, 3.8 mm (NSMT-Cr 21691), south of Omae-zaki, Honshu Island, 34˚17.55´N, 138˚14.46´E, 443.4 m (KT-04-6, St. KS-2-1), 30 April 2004.

Remarks. The female specimen, similar to Dimorphostylis elegans, is characterized by (1) the carapace being furnished with 4 horns on anterior and posterior end of dorso-lateral ridges (Fig. 4 A, B), (2) uropod peduncle nearly 3 times long as the endopod (Fig. 4 C). A sediment sample (KT-04-6, St. KS-2-1) included a young male with the horny carapace and a preparatory female of D. elegans with the normal shape of carapace. Although the other morphological characters of the female specimen agree with D. elegans, the horny carapace can not be explained as morphological variation.