Discias vernbergi Boothe & Heard, 1987

Discias vernbergi Boothe & Heard, 1987: 506, figs. 1–3 [type locality: 65 nautical miles W of Egmont Key, Florida, 27°37’N 83°58’W, 55m]; Nizinski 2003: 102; Pachelle & De Grave 2015: 1473.

Material examined. RMNH. CRUS.D.57263: 2 females (pocl. 3.15mm and 2.05mm) and 1 male (pocl. 2.9mm), Bonaire, 12°04'47"N, 068°17'37"W, depth 217m, 1.vi.2013, dive with Curasub submersible BON4 /BDR059, in sponge Neopetrosia dutchi Van Soest, Meesters & Becking, 2014, collected by L.E. Becking and H .W.G. Meesters. RMNH.CRUS.D.57264: 1 ovigerous female (pocl. 5.1mm), 7 females (pocl. 2.2 to 3.6mm), 8 males (pocl. 1.8 to 3.5mm), Bonaire, 12°04'47"N, 068°17'37"W, depth 246m, 31.v.2013, dive with Curasub submersible BON4 / BDR050, in sponge, collected by L.E. Becking and H .W.G. Meesters. RMNH.CRUS.D.57265: 1 male (pocl. 3.25mm), Bonaire, 12°08'13"N, 068°17'09"W, depth 159m, 31.v.2013, dive with Curasub submersible BON3, from hexactinellid sponge, collected by L.E. Becking and H.W.G. Meesters.

Distribution. Discias vernbergi is described from the east coast (Georgia) and Gulf Coast (Florida) of the southeastern United States living at depths of 54 to 74 meters (Boothe & Heard 1987). The present specimens were found at depths up to 246 meters in the Caribbean, significantly increasing the depth at which this species can be found.

Host. A host for the type specimens was not recorded. One of the specimens in the present collection was found in association with a hexactinellid sponge, the other in the neopetrosid species Neopetrosia dutchi Van Soest, Meesters & Becking, 2014 . Most species of Discias have been recorded from sponge hosts (Bruce 1970, 1976; Kensley 1983; Pachelle & De Grave 2015). D. atlanticus has also been observed in the tubes of the parchment tubeworm Chaetopterus variopedatus (Renier, 1804) (Criales & Lemaitre 1997).

Remarks. Discias vernbergi can be easily distinguished from the other species in the genus by the following characters: 1) the lanceolate shape of the rostrum with about 30 teeth laterally, 2) the absence of a posterior middorsal process on pleonal segment 2, 3) the presence of six pairs of cuspidate setae on the telson, 4) the presence of 4 to 9 fixed lateral teeth on the exopod of the uropod.

The largest specimen from the current collection is larger than the previously recorded pocl. range of 2.1 to 4.1mm: one ovigerous female is present with a pocl. of 5.1mm. The other specimens range between 2.2 to 3.6mm pocl. for non-ovigerous females, and 1.8 to 3.05mm pocl. for males. The large ovigerous female has a higher number of lateral teeth on the exopod of the uropod: 8–9 instead of the 4–6 lateral spines in smaller specimens.