Armases ricordi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853 )

Parasram, Nadeshinie, Santana, William & Vallès, Henri, 2021, Updated checklist of semi-terrestrial and estuarine crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura) of Barbados, West Indies, Zootaxa 5052 (4), pp. 451-485 : 471-472

Armases ricordi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853)

Fig. 12 A, B, C, D

Sesarma Ricordi H. Milne Edwards, 1853: 183 [type-locality: Haiti].

Sesarma guerini H. Milne Edwards, 1853: 183 [type-locality: unknown].

Sesarma miniate De Saussure, 1858: 442 [type-locality: Saint Thomas].

Sesarma ricordi var. terrestris Verrill, 1908: 119 , 328, pl. 11, fig. 3 [type-locality: Bermuda].

Armases ricordi — Abele 1992: 526–527, figs. 23 e, 28 e–g & 30. Schubart & Diesel 1998: 743–750. Diesel & Schuh 1998: 423–436. Ng et al. 2008: 220. Poupin 2018: 228.

Material examined. Barbados, Long Pond , St. Andrew, mudflat, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W, 3 ♂; 1 ♀ CW: 13.4; 12.8; 12.5 mm; CW: 18.3 mm ( BLSZ 002 ) , 1 ♀ CW: 14.6 mm ( BLSZ 078 ) . Barbados, Sherman’s , St. Peter, mudflat, 13̊ 16’67.5” N–59̊ 38’42.08” W, 1 ♂ CW: 15.8 mm ( BLSZ 079 ) . Barbados, Long Pond , St. Andrew, mudflat, 13̊ 15’40.6” N–59̊ 33’22.94” W, 2 ♂, 1 ♀ CW: 1.7, 1.8, 1.5 mm ( BLSZ 192 ; MZUSP 40906 ; MZUSP 40925 ) .

Distribution. Armases ricordi is found in the Western Atlantic: Bermuda, Florida, Andros Island, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, Isla de Providencia, Barbados (present study), Tobago, Trinidad, Isla los Roques, Curaçao, Isla de Margarita, Isla de Cubagua, Isla de Tortuga, and Suriname ( Chace & Hobbs 1969; Abele 1992; Poupin 2018).

Distribution in Barbados. Long Pond and Sherman’s [ Table 1 (Site #’s: 3 & 26)].

Habitat in Barbados. Mudflats along the banks of estuarine wetlands under various forms of debris ( Fig. 2B : J).

Ecological notes. Armases ricordi was recorded approximately 10–30 m away from the high-water mark on the banks of the Long Pond wetland. Specimens were found under debris of dry coconut leaves and inside the shells of dry coconuts; they were also collected from floating debris (coconut shells, branches, and plastic bottles) along the bank of the Long Pond wetland. Minuca burgersi was seen in the same area and sometimes under the same debris as Armases ricordi . Specimens were collected both during the day and night-time periods. This species is not as common as Armases roberti .

Remarks. Armases ricordi is identified by the presence of pubescence on the dorsal surface of the carapace; the third and fourth pereiopods are longer than the second and fifth pereiopods. The second and third pereiopods are armed with tuft of setae on ventral surface of propodus and dactylus ( Abele 1992).

Figures

FIGURE 2A. Semi-terrestrial and estuarine habitats of Barbados. A, B, Coastal Wetlands; C, D, Rocky Shores (Photos: N. Parasram).

FIGURE 12. Habitus of Armases ricordi (H. Milne Edwards, 1853) (BLSZ 079; BLSZ 002). A, B, dorsal view of male and female; C, D, ventral view of male and female. Scale bars: 20 mm.