Talorchestia martensii ( Weber, 1892 )

Azman, B. A. R., 2017, The talitrid amphipod genus Talorchestia from the South China Sea to the Indonesian Archipelago (Crustacea, Senticaudata), Zootaxa 4319 (3), pp. 401-434 : 417

Talorchestia martensii ( Weber, 1892)

Orchestia martensii Weber, 1892 ; 564, figs 13–16.

Talorchestia martensii .— Stebbing, 1906: 553.— Morino & Miyamoto, 1988: 97 (key, in part).— Miyamoto & Morino, 1999: 171, figs 2–6.— Stephensen, 1935: 10 (no new records).

Not confirmed. Talorchestia martensii .— Chilton, 1921: 541, fig. 8 (off Barkul, Chilka Lake, India). — Graveley, 1927: 123 (Krusadai Island, Gulf of Manaar, India).— K.H. Barnard, 1935: 289 (Vizagapatam; Travancore, India).— Ruffo, 1938: 169 ( Eritrea: Difnen Island, Red Sea,).— Nayar, 1959: 28, pl. 10(1–9) (banks of the Cooum and Adyar rivers, Madras Coast, India).— Nayar, 1967: 155, fig. 12 (Turicorin and Mandapam, India, probably Talorchestia ).— Ledoyer, 1968: 279, pls 19–21, south-west coast, Madagascar (immature male).— Ruffo, 1969: 40, fig. 12 (map) (Goliath Bay, Entedebir Island, Dahlak Archipelago, and Massawa, Eritrea; Port Sudan, Sudan; Ghardaqa, Egypt; all Red Sea, no description or illustrations).— Sivaprakasam, 1969: 298 (south-eastern India, no description or illustrations).—? Shyamasundari & Hanumantha Rao, 1974: 149 (physiology).—? Shyamasundari & Hanumantha Rao, 1977: 122 (physiology).— Ledoyer, 1986: 1017, fig. 402 (south-west coast, Madagascar, Talorchestia , not identifiable to any known species).—? Ugolini, 2001: 193 (ethology, Kenya: Malindi, Kenya (3°13’S 40°07’E )).— Ren, 2006: 57, 62, 67, 70 (Hainan Island, China, no description or illustrations).

Talorchestia gracilis .— Chilton, 1925: 535 (according to Ledoyer 1986).

Talorchestia affinis .— Maccagno, 1936: 181 (according to Ruffo 1938).

Type material. Presumed lost (not in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany, Coleman, pers comm).

Type locality. Lella (rivulet), south coast of eastern Flores, Indonesia, under stones.

Habitat. Marine, supralittoral sandy beaches and possibly freshwater, under stones on margins of rivulet.

Diagnostic description. Based on Miyamoto & Morino (1999), male, 11 mm.

Antenna 2 more than half but not exceeding body length. Gnathopod 1 carpus about 1.6 × as long as propodus, about 2.6 × as long as broad; propodus subrectangular. Gnathopod 2 merus and carpus separate; propodus about 1.8 × as long as wide, palm reaching about 54–55% along posterior margin, without protuberance. Epimeron 1 with about 5 robust setae along ventral margin. Epimeron 3 posteroventral corner with small subacute tooth. Uropod 2 inner ramus subequal in length to outer ramus. Uropod 3 ramus 2.2 × as long as broad. Telson with about 8 setae per lobe.

Remarks. Although the original description and illustrations of T. martensii are not particularly informative Miyamoto & Morino (1999) made the decision to redescribe the species based on material from Taiwan. Weber (1892) says the corner of epimeron 3 is sharp and protruding, which is true of the Taiwanese material. Accepting this description allows the taxonomy of Talorchestia to progress. We accept Miyamoto & Morino (1999) until new material from the type locality is collected and described.

Whether Chilton (1921) had T. martensii from Chilka Lake in north-eastern India is problematic. The species looks similar to the T. martensii of Miyamoto & Morino (1999) but on the inner ramus of uropod 1 Chilton (1921) shows only one row of setae, clearly two rows are present in the material of Miyamoto & Morino (1999).

The records of T. martensii of Ledoyer (1968, 1986) from Madagascar are also similar to the T. martensii of Miyamoto & Morino (1999) but the palm of male gnathopod 2 is only slightly acute and does not extend along the posterior margin of the propodus as in T. martensii .

The other records of T. martensii in the above synonymy, from as far to the west as the Red Sea and south-west to Madagascar are mostly not described or illustrated and cannot currently be confirmed as records of T. martensii .

Talorchestia martensii of Miyamoto & Morino (1999) is very similar to T. qeshm Lowry & Momtazi, 2015 from the Persian Gulf. They differ mainly in the third uropods (peduncle with twice as many robust setae in T. qeshm and peduncle and ramus fused) and the telson (8–9 robust setae per lobe in T. martensii , 10–11 robust setae per lobe in T. qeshm ).

Distribution (confirmed). Indonesia. Western Flores ( Weber 1892). Taiwan. West coast, Fulung, Demao, Kenting, Tungsiao, Tungchiag, Makung ( Miyamoto & Morino 1999).