Pseudosphyrapus

Błażewicz-Paszkowycz, Magdalena, Bamber, Roger N. & Cunha, Marina R., 2011, Apseudomorph tanaidaceans (Crustacea: Peracarida) from mud-volcanoes in the Gulf of Cadiz (North-east Atlantic), Zootaxa 2919, pp. 1-36 : 33-35

cf. Pseudosphyrapus sp. A nov.

( Fig. 20)

Material examined. 1 damaged Ƥ with oostegites ( BMNH.2010.470), Cruise TTR15, Station AT559, Kidd mud volcano, 35°24.777’N 06°43.782’W, 552 m depth, mud, Boxcore, 08.08.2004; 3 fragmented ƤƤ ( BMNH.2010.471- 473), Station AT391, Jesus Baraza mud volcano, 35°35.439'N 07°12.264'W, 1105 m depth, carbonate clay and mud breccia, TV-grab, 09.07.2002; coll MRC.

Partial description of female. Body ( Fig. 20) typical of a sphyrapid, length of adult female 1.86 mm, five times as long as wide; cephalothorax subrectangular, glabrous, about as long as wide, with pronounced pointed, tapering rostrum; eyes absent, eyelobes reduced to small pointed tubercles. Six free pereonites, pereonite 1 not fused to cephalothorax; all pereonites laterally convex, expanded at attachment of coxae; pereonites 1 and 6 subequal in length, about one-quarter as long as cephalothorax; pereonites 2 and 5 subequal in length, 1.2 times as long as pereonite 1; pereonites 3 and 4 subequal in length, 1.5 times as long as pereonite 1. Pleon three times as long as pereonite 1, of five free subequal pleonites bearing pleopods, and pleotelson; pleonites all of equal width with short, posteriorly-oriented lateral spine-like apophyses, each about five times as wide as long. Pleotelson semicircular, one-third of length of whole pleon, 0.7 times as long as wide, with distinct posterolateral corners and small dorsal mid-distal tubercle but no distal spine; uropods attached anteriorly.

Antennule with 4-articled peduncle, main flagellum of 5 or 6 subequal articles, accessory flagellum absent. Antenna without squama or pseudosquama. Cheliped typically hammer-like. Pereopod 1 longer than other pereopods, merus and carpus subequal in length, propodus 0.6 times as long as carpus with five ventral spines.

Remarks. The material of this taxon is too damaged to allow a competent description, and thus we refrain from naming this undoubtedly new species. In particular, the presence or absence of a mandibular palp is unknown. The conspicuous rostrum, articulation of pereonite 1 with the cephalothorax, parallel-sided pleon with small lateral spine-like apophyses, and short proximal article in the antennular main-flagellum are all typical of Pseudosphyrapus , but the present species has no accessory flagellum on the antennule, a feature of Sphyrapus (see above) but of no species of Pseudosphyrapus or indeed of any other genus of the Sphyrapodidae . The only species of Pseudosphyrapus recorded previously from the north-east Atlantic is P. centobi Bäcescu, 1981 (q.v.), but, in addition to a twosegmented accessory flagellum, that species has a rounded rostrum, and has pereonites and pleonites of quite different proportion from the present species.