Plesionika martia (A. Milne-Edwards, 1883)

Souza-Filho, Jesser Fidelis De, 2017, Deep sea decapod crustaceans of São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago, Equatorial Atlantic, Brazil, Zootaxa 4324 (2), pp. 331-347 : 342

Plesionika martia (A. Milne-Edwards, 1883)

( Figure 8 )

Pandalus martius A. Milne-Edwards , 188, pl 21.

Plesionika martia — Crosnier and Forest, 1973: 112, figs. 63d, 64, 66 (see for extensive synonym).

Material examined. One specimen (TL 114.8 mm, CL 31.6 mm), MOUFPE 17899 , São Pedro e São Paulo Archipelago (0°54.560’ N e 29°21.895’ W), 340 m, 25 August 2015.

Diagnosis. Carapace without lateral carinae; rostrum smooth dorsally for most of its length with few teeth (6– 9 dorsal rostral teeth) at base, none movable. Posterior margin of third abdominal somite straight and not armed; no subapical tooth. Second maxilliped with terminal segment broader than long, applied as strip to distal margin of penultimate segment. Pereopod 2 equal in length. Strap-like epipods present in at least 2 anterior pairs of pereopods. Pereopod 4 with epipod. Telson longer than sixth abdominal somite, with 3 pairs of dorsolateral spines, including pair adjacent to lateral pair of posterior spines ( Ahamed et al., 2017).

Distribution. West Atlantic: off South Carolina to Florida and off Bermuda; NE and SW Gulf of Mexico. Eastern Atlantic, Azores: off SW Ireland, Bay of Biscay, throughout Mediterranean, Gulf of Guinea, and Cape of Good Hope. Asian waters: Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea; at depths of 180–400 m ( Pequegnat, 1970; Chace, 1985; Ahamed et al., 2017).

Remarks. Chace (1985) states that the proportional size of the rostrum cannot be used to distinguish P. martia from other species such as De Man (1920) and others have attempted to do. In this sense, the size and shape of the eye (orbit configuration) appear to be the characteristic that differ from P. martia of the Indo-Pacific species (e.g. Plesionika orientalis ). Another important feature is the length and proportion of the distal segments of the three posterior pairs of pereopods. However, these appendages are extremely fragile and are usually absent in the samples ( Chace, 1985; Ahamed et al., 2017).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Plesionika martia, female with TL 114.8 mm and CL 31.6 mm, collected off São Pedro and São Paulo Archipelago, Brazil, MOUFPE 17899. Scale bars 10 mm