Liomera edwardsi Kossmann, 1877

Iwasa-Arai, Tammy, McCallum, Anna W. & Taylor, Joanne, 2015, Oceanic Shoals Commonwealth Marine Reserve survey reveals new records of xanthid crabs (Crustacea: Brachyura: Xanthidae) from northern Australia, Memoirs of Museum Victoria 73, pp. 1-11 : 4-5

Liomera edwardsi Kossmann, 1877

( Figure 1D )

Liomera edwardsi Kossmann, 1877: 28 .

Carpilodes edwardsi.— Miers, 1886: 133 (part).— Odhner, 1925: 13, pl. 1, fig. 5.— Holthuis, 1953: 13.— Serène & Luom, 1960: 176 (key).

Carpilodes laevis .— Milne-Edwards, Nobili, 1906b: 215 (part).— Michel, 1964: 23 (not A. Milne-Edwards, 1873).

Carpilodes sayademalhensis Rathbun, 1911: 211 , pl. 17, fig. 5.— Ward, 1942: 83.

Liomera edwardsi .— Guinot, 1967: 266.— Serène, 1968: 72.— Sakai, 1976: 393, fig. 209a, pl. 139, fig. 5.— Muraoka, 1998: 38. — Davie, 2002: 543.

Liomera (Liomera) edwardsi .— Serène, 1984: 49 (key), 54 (key), 58, pl. 5C.

Material examined. NMV J46927 , 1 male, Cb= 9.4 mm, Cl= 5.8 mm (acq. 10282) Survey SOL5650, Stn 014 BS002, 12°4.133'–4.133'S, 127°26.164'–26.164'E, 36– 34 m, Benthic sled , 17/09/2012 ; NMV J46926 , 1 female Cb= 14.2 mm, Cl= 9.2 mm (acq. 10100) Survey SOL5650, Stn 019 GR026, 12°4.842, 127°25.815'E, 49 m, Smith Mac , 18/09/2012 ; NMV J46924 , 1 female, Cb= 10.8 mm, Cl= 7.1 mm (acq. 10327) Survey SOL5650, Stn 016 BS004, 12°4.491'S, 127°25.742'E, 45 m, Benthic sled , 17/09/2012 ; NMV J46925 , 1 male, Cb= 15.6 mm, Cl= 9.8 mm (acq. 20251) Survey SOL5650, Stn 074 BS022, 12°4.49'– 4.52'S, 127°26.62–26.62'E, 59–66 m, Benthic sled , 03/10/2012 .

Colour in preservative. Carapace crimson with white patches mostly on 3 R, sometimes extending to 5L and 2L Ambulatory legs crimson with bands of white at the distal and proximal ends; chelipeds crimson with black fingers. Abdomen mostly white with crimson patches. All specimens presented crimson and white colouration, but differ in proportion of white.

Remarks. Liomera edwardsi was the only species with more than one specimen collected during the Timor Sea Oceanic Shoals survey. Liomera edwardsi is very similar to L. tristis (Dana, 1852) , L. laevis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1873), L. sagamiensis ( Sakai, 1939) and L. nigropunctata (Serène & Van Luom, 1960) , but can be distinguished by a projecting areole well separated from 2M and 1F ( Serène, 1984) on the dorsal surface. This species was previously recorded in Australia by Odhner (1925) from one specimen collected from Holothuria Bank, Northwest Australia.

Distribution. Comoro Islands ( Mayotte), Madagascar (Tulear), Djibouti and Red Sea, South China Sea, Japan (Kii Peninsula), Solomon Islands (Peros Bankos), Northwest Australia, Australia (Holothuria Bank) ( Odhner, 1925; Sakai, 1976; Serène, 1984). Depth range 15– 59 m.

Figures

Figure 1. A, Actaeodes mutatus Guinot 1976, female, 18.1 X 11.5 mm (NMV J46921); B, Paractaea rufopunctata plumosa Guinot, in Sakai, 1976, male, 29.1 X 19.7 mm (NMV J46922); C, Euxanthus sp., male, 8.12 X 5.83 mm (NMV J46923); D, Liomera edwardsi Kossmann, 1877, male, 9.37 X 5.83 mm (NMV J46927); E, Liomera margaritata, male, 16.3 X 9.8 mm (NMV J46928); F, Atergatopsis granulata A. Milne Edwards, 1865, female, 19.6 X 12.9 mm (NMV J46929); G, Atergatopsis alcocki, male, 32.4 X 22.4 mm (NMV J46930); H, Lophozozymus dodone (Herbst, 1801), male, 16.7 X 10.4mm (NMV J46931). Photos: T. Iwasa-Arai.