Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858

Scorpionura vulgaris (J. Vaughn Thompson) W. Thompson, 1856, p. 394 (nomen nudum).— Bate, 1858, pp. 101, 102.

Vaunthompsonia cristata Bate, 1858, p. 203.— Norman, 1863, p. 271.— Sars, 1879, pp. 13–22, figs. 23–26.— Stebbing, 1893, p. 304.— Calman, 1905, p. 17.— Stebbing, 1913, pp. 10–11, figs. 4–7.— Fage, 1928, p. 231.— Zimmer, 1941, pp. 13, 36, 76, figs. 11, 49, 125.— Fage, 1951, pp. 24–26, figs. 17, 18.— Jones, 1960, pp. 171–172.— Gamô, 1967, p. 144.— Ledoyer, 1983, pp. 70–71.— Petrescu, et al., 2014c, pp. 533–536, figs. 4, 5.

Vaunthompsonia cf. cristata Bate, 1858 .— Petrescu & Iliffe, 2009, p. 132.

Bodotria longipes Sars, 1879, pp. 13.

Material examined. 1 ovigerous female (MGAB CUM 1803), Weinberg, La Parguera, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, 17° 32’03”N 66° 35’35”W, sorted from algae, 58 m, June 3, 2008 ; 1 ovigerous female (MGAB CUM 1716), Ponce Ledge, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, 17°55'27.68"N 66°32'39.08"W, 52 m, October 19, 2010 ; 1 subadult female, 1 manca (MGAB CUM 1806), St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 54 m, May 8, 2012, 18°13'18.6960"N, 64°40'33.4560"W, collected by Nikolaos V. Schizas during the 2012 UPRM-DMS Mesophotic Cruise ; 1 subadult female (MGAB CUM 1799), Tourmaline reef, Puerto Rico, Caribbean Sea, April 29, 2012, 18°10'31.0800"N, 67°19'38.2800"W, 54 m, collected by Nikolaos V. Schizas during the 2012 UPRM-DMS Mesophotic Cruise.

Diagnosis. Carapace with double crest of spines on dorsal margin. Elongated body. Pereopod 1 basis with two stout long setae on medial margin. Uropodal peduncle as long as exopod.

Remarks. This species has been recorded earlier from the mesophotic zone of Puerto Rico: Tourmaline reef, Puerto Rico, 50 m depth ; St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, 68 m depth; Lang Bank, St. Croix, U.S . Virgin Islands, 55 m depth; Cane Bay, St. Croix, U.S . Virgin Islands, 60 m depth (Petrescu et al., 2014c). Herein, it is reported from La Parguera and Ponce, Puerto Rico .

Distribution. Initially described from the Atlantic waters of Europe (Bate, 1858, Jones, 1976), but also from the Mediterranean Sea (Sars, 1879), South Africa (Day, 1975), southeast Asia, Annam, (Fage, 1951), Japan (Gamô, 1962, 1967), South Korea (Kang & Lee, 1995), Indonesia (Petrescu, 1997). The species was first mentioned by Calman (1907) from Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (then called Danish West Indies). Other reports from the western Atlantic are from Belize (Petrescu, 2002), Exuma Islands (Bahamas) (Petrescu, 2003), Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands (Petrescu et al., 2014c, present report). Depth range: 0–2338 m deep.