Agononida squamosa ( Henderson, 1885 )

Ahyong, Shane T. & Poore, Gary C. B., 2004, Deep-water Galatheidae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura) from southern and eastern Australia, Zootaxa 472 (1), pp. 1-76 : 13-15

Agononida squamosa ( Henderson, 1885)

Munida squamosa Henderson, 1885: 409 ; 1888 [type locality: N of Admiralty Islands]; 131–133, pl. 13: fig. 1. — Baba, 1994: 16. — Macpherson, 1993a: 425, fig. 1h–i; 1994: 537, fig. 96; 1996: 406, 408.

Agononida squamosa . — Baba & de Saint Laurent, 1996: 442. — Macpherson, 1997: 603; 1999: 414–415, figs. 3b–c. — Davie, 2002: 59.

Material examined. NEW SOUTH WALES: AM P66652, 1 ovigerous female (17.3 mm), SE of Cape Byron , 28º41’S, 153º51’E, 156 m, K78­17­21, 18 Aug 1978 ; AM P21763, 1 male (22.8 mm), SE of Clarence River , 29°41’S, 153°47’E, 406–414 m, K75­09­04, 10 Oct 1975 ; AM P21765, 4 males (16.7–24.4 mm), 7 ovigerous females (15.3–20.4 mm), SE of Clarence River , 29°41’S, 153°47’E, 406–414 m, K75­09­04, 10 Oct 1975 ; AM P31491, 1 male (22.6 mm), NE of Solitary Island , 29°52’S, 153°42’E, 480 m, K78­06­07, 26 April 1978 ; AM P42259, 4 males (21.0– 22.5 mm), 4 females (19.3–24.0 mm), NE of Sugarloaf Point , 32º15’S, 153º02’E, 457 m, trawl, K78­03­04, 5 Apr 1978 ; AM P42270, 1 female (22.5 mm), NE of Sugarloaf Point , 32º15’S, 153º02’E, 457 m, trawl, K78­03­04, 5 Apr 1978 ; AM P42272, 1 male (16.8+ mm), E of Long Reef , 33°40’S, 151°54’E, 468 m, K80­ 21­05, 16 Dec 1980 ; AM P66651, 1 male (19.0 mm), 1 female (12.0 mm), NE of Long Reef , 33°42’S, 151°54’E, 439–466 m, K85­21­06, 19 Dec 1985 ; AM P31513, 1 female (17.3 mm), E of Long Reef , 33°46’S, 151°49’E, 439 m, K80­21­04, 16 Dec 1980 ; NMV J21036 , 1 female (21.8 mm), E of Long Reef , 33°46’S, 151°49’E, 421–503 m, K81­17­03, 9 Sep 1981 ; AM P31505, 1 female (21.6 mm), E of Port Jackson , 450 m, 5 May 1978 ; AM P21053, 1 ovigerous female (23.0 mm), NE of Wollongong , 34º14’S, 151º28’E, 403 m, K75­05­02, 8 Aug 1975 ; AM P21039, 1 ovigerous female (22.6 mm), NE of Wollongong , 34º16–22’S, 151º26–23’E, 366 m, K75­05­01, 8 Aug 1975 ; AM P21103, 1 male (20.3 mm), 2 ovigerous females (19.1–22.9 mm), NE of Wollongong , 34º16–22’S, 151º26– 23’E, 366 m, K75­05­01, 8 Aug 1975 .

Comparative material of Munida squamosa var. prolixa Alcock, 1894 . AM P2650 (ex IM 773 /10) , 1 male (26.9 mm), Arabian Sea, 1232 m, Investigator stn 204.

Remarks. Agononida squamosa was reported from Queensland by Baba (1994). The present specimens agree well with the type description ( Henderson 1885) and the most recent accounts and figures ( Macpherson 1993a: fig. 96, 1993a: fig. 1h–i, 1994) of the species. All specimens bear a strong mesial terminal spine on the second antennal segment and six lateral carapace spines (1 anterolateral, 1 hepatic and 4 branchial). In his type account of Agononida analoga (as Munida analoga ) Macpherson (1993a) reported on two Investigator specimens of A. squamosa var. prolixa Alcock, 1894 (as Munida ) and suggested that Alcock’s subspecies might be distinct from A. squamosa with which it was regarded as a synonym by Baba (1988). Macpherson (1993a) noted that the two specimens of A. squamosa var. prolixa differed from A. squamosa sensu stricto in having a blunt mesial terminal spine on the second antennal segment and three instead of four branchial spines on the carapace. Characters of another Investigator specimen of Alcock’s var. prolixa (AM P2650) fully corroborate Macpherson’s (1993a) observations. The differences between Alcock’s subspecies and A. squamosa sensu stricto, although subtle, are consistent and warrant recognition of Alcock’s subspecies as a distinct species. Agononida prolixa (Alcock, 1894) n. comb. is presently known known only from the eastern Indian Ocean (Andaman and Arabian Seas) and A. squamosa is presently known only from the western Oceania. The ranges of A. prolixa and A. squamosa do not overlap, but a very similar species, A. analoga Macpherson , exhibits an intermediate distribution in the South China Sea ( Macpherson 1993a).

A 22.8 mm male specimen (AM P21763) of A. squamosa has a bopyrid isopod infection (AM P21764) under the right posterior portion of the carapace.

Distribution. Admiralty Islands, New Caledonia, Lifou, Vanuatu, Wallis Islands, and eastern Australia at depths between 156 and 752 m ( Macpherson 1999). Reported for the first time from New South Wales.