Cumella sp. (Fig. 15)

Material examined. Assaluyeh, north Nay Band Bay, Persian Gulf. Campaign 1998: 1 ov. female, stn 3, 52°33.464’N 27°30.828’E, 19 m depth; 1 adult male, stn 5, 52°32.959’N 27°30.292’E, 26 m depth; stn 8, 1 preadult male 52°33.574’N 27°30.229’E, 19 m depth; 4 ovigerous females, stn 13, 52°33.831’N 27°29.948’E, 15 m depth; 1 adult male damaged, stn 18, 52°33.244’N 27°29.406’E, 16 m depth; 1 adult male, 1 ovigerous female, stn 19, 52°34.003’N 27°29.156’E, 19 m depth; 1 ovigerous female, stn 23, 52°34.429’N 27°29.065’E, 14 m depth. Campaign 2002: 1 prep. male, stn 24, 52°34.168’N 27°28.797’, 18 m depth.

Description. Ovigerous female 1.82 mm total length. Carapace less than 1/3 of total length (Fig. 15 A), with a small posterior gibbosity; eye­lobe rounded; anterolateral angle without ornamentation; in two specimens there is a tooth in the centre of the middorsal line while in the rest, the carapace is smooth.

The three articles of antennule (Fig. 15 B) of decreasing length from the basal to the distal; main flagellum biarticulate with two distal aesthetascs; accessory flagellum rudimentary.

Mouthparts: maxilliped 3 (Fig. 15 C), basis shorter than rest of appendage, distal outer corner produced slightly and with two long plumose setae; merus also produced distally and with one long plumose seta; carpus shorter than propodus.

Pereopods: pereopod 1 (Fig. 15 D), basis slightly longer than the three following articles combined length; carpus 1.5 as long as propodus. Pereopod 2 (Fig. 15 E), basis shorter than the rest of appendage, with a simple seta distally; ischium short; merus slightly shorter than carpus; dactylus twice length of propodus and armed with several acuminate setae, being the longest longer than the article. Pereopod 5 (Fig. 15 F), carpus shorter than basis and 1.5 as long as propodus.

Uropod peduncle slightly shorter than telsonic somite (Fig. 15 G), with two small acuminate setae on inner margin. Endopod longer than exopod, having two acuminate setae on inner margin and a long seta distally. Exopod biarticulate, article 2 with a distal seta longer than the article.

Remarks. The specimens collected in the Persian Gulf agree with the description of Cumella schieckei Bacescu and Muradian, 1975 in the proportions of uropod that has the peduncle slightly shorter than the last pleonite, the anterolateral angle smooth and the lack of ornamentation on the dorsal line of the carapace. However, two adult females, collected in 1998 at the station 13, have a dorsal tooth on the centre of the carapace. Due to the lack of well preserved specimens and the variability observed in our material, it has not been determined at species level