Ammothella panamensis Child, 2004

Müller, Hans-Georg & Krapp, Franz, 2009, The pycnogonid fauna (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) of the Tayrona National Park and adjoining areas on the Caribbean coast of Colombia 2319, Zootaxa 2319 (1), pp. 1-138 : 28-31

Ammothella panamensis Child, 2004

Figs. 10–11

Ammothella panamensis Child, 2004: 144–147 , fig. 1.

Material: 8.— Male ( SMF 1639 ), on poriferans and hydroids on shaded jetty piles, 0–1 m, 18.V.1985 .

4.— 6 males, 3 fem. (1gravid), 1 juv. ( SMF 1640 ), coral rubble, 18 m, 9.X.1985 . 1 juv. ( SMF 1641 ), hydroids on coral rubble, 21–22 m, 9.XII.1985 . 1 male, 2 fem. (1 gravid), 4 juv. ( SMF 1642 ), coral rubble, 30 m, 10.III.1986 .

5.— 2 fem. (gravid) ( ZMA 3384 ), coral rubble, 30 m, 18.II.1986 .

8.— 1 male (ov.) ( SMF 1643 ), on poriferans and hydroids on shaded jetty piles, 0–1 m, 24.IV.1985 . 1 male, 3 juv. ( SMF 1644 ), same locality, 0.5–6 m, 27.V.1985 .

9.— 1 juv. ( SMF 1645 ), from detritus and hydroids on stones, 28 m, 3.VI.1985 . 1 male ( ZMA 3353 ), coral rubble, 13 m, 3.VI.1985 . 1 juv. ( SMF 1646 ), coral rubble, 11 m, 17.VI.1985 . 1 male (ov.), 1 juv. ( INVEMAR), from detritus and hydroids on stones, 22–23 m, 19.VI.1985 . 2 adults without legs, 1 juv. ( SMF 1647 ), coral rubble, 15 m, 1.VII.1985 . 1 male (ov.), 4 fem. (3 gravid), 4 juv. ( SMF 1648 ), coral rubble, 30 m, 21.IX.1985 . 3juv. ( SMF 1649 ), coral rubble 15–20 m, 27.XI.1985 . 6 juv. ( SMF 1650 ), coral rubble, 12–15 m, 15.XII.1985 . 1 fem., 2 juv. ( ZMA 3382 ), coral rubble, 22 m ,, 17.XII. 1985 . 2 juv. ( SMF 1651 ), coral rubble, 18 m, 18.XII.1985 . 1 juv. ( SMF 1652 ), coral rubble, 20–22 m, 26.I.1986 . 4 males (3 ov.), 3 juv. ( SMF 1653 ), coral rubble with hydroids and bryozoans, 30 m, 10.II.1986 .

12.— 1 male (ov.), 4 juv. ( SMF 1654 ), on hydroids and octocorallians, 16–18 m, 16.IX.1985 . 1 juv. ( SMF 1655 ), on hydroids and bryozoans, 11–15 m, 2.X.1985 . 1 fem. (gravid), 1 juv. ( SMF 1656 ), coral rubble, 18 m, 2.X.1985 . 3 juv. ( SMF 1657 ), coral rubble, 17–20 m, 7.XII.1985 . 1 male, 1 juv. ( USNM), coral rubble, 17– 19 m, 9.I.1986 . 1 male, 1 juv. ( ZMA 3385 ), coral rubble, 20 m, 21.II.1986 .

13.— 3 males, 3 fem., 2 juv. ( SMF 1658 ), coral rubble, 21 m, 8.XI.1985 .

42.— 1 juv. ( SMF 1659 ), coral rubble, 13 m, 28.II.1986 .

In the original (unpublished) version of this paper the first author dedicated this species to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. E. F. Kilian as Ammothella kiliani , in recognition of his continuous support of the scientific work and especially the doctoral thesis of H.-G. Müller until he deceased in summer 1989. The specimens were deposited in the Senckenberg Museum Frankfurt under that name and registration numbers, especially the specimen cited from locality 8 as the holotype and those from locality 4 as paratypes. As Child (2004) described the species under the actual name A. panamensis , A. kiliani became a manuscript name.

Description of male: Trunk oval in outline, slender and completely segmented. Crurigers 1 and 2 separated by about 2/3 of their diameter, crurigers 3 and 4 by more than their diameter. Ocular process very high and slender with distal enlargement housing the distinctly pigmented eys. Crurigers without any tubercles or spines. Abdomen erect, slightly inclined backwards and in dorsal aspect overreaching the 4 th crurigers; anterior aspect of abdomen with some clavate and some simple setae.

Proboscis a protracted oval, broadest at mid-length. Scape of cheliphores two-articled, about 8 times as long as broad, distally enlarged; basal article more than 1/3 of length of distal article; distal adorned by several clavate and simple setae; cheliphores rudimentary, indistinctly two-articled.

Palps 9-articled, very slender, 2 nd and 4 th articles the longest; 2 nd article five times, 4 th article about 7 times as long as their respective diameters; terminal article about as long as articles 7 and 8 together; articles 5-9 with several ventral, and distal setae. Oviger 10-articled, its 2 nd and 4 th articles about same length; 7 th article distally enlarged and adorned with several slender spines; 7 th –10 th articles with some flat serrated spines, biggest on tiny terminal article.

Legs very slender; coxa 1 of all legs dorso-distally with one clavate seta; coxa 1 of legs 1–3 with single antero- and postero-lateral simple setae; coxa 1 of leg 4 with antero-lateral simple seta. Coxae 2 about 4 times as long as coxa 1, coxae 3 about 3 times as long as coxa 1; coxa 2 with several dorsal and ventro-distal simple and clavate setae; coxa 3 with simple ventral setae only; femur 7 times as long as broad, the slender cement gland duct 2/5 of femur length; tibia 1 15 times as long as broad, slightly longer than femur; with some longer dorsal spines in proximal half, dorso-distally with one longer spine and some irregularly spaced clavate and simple spines; tibia 2: 16 times as long as broad, 9/10 length of tibia 1; dorsally some clavate and longer simple setae, ventral row of about 12 short setae. Tarsus short and 2 times as long as broad, with robust ventral spine and two short setae. Propodus moderately curved; heel not very marked, very flat, bearing 3 robust spines; sole with 5 short spines and distal pair of setae; main claw feebly curved and nearly half length of propodus; auxiliary claw very slender and more strongly curved than main claw, about 4/5 of its length.

Measurements: Trunk length 0.78; width 0.63 (across 2 nd crurigers); length of abdomen 0.68; length of proboscis 0.69; length of cheliphore 0.66. B3: coxa 1, 0.14; coxa 2, 0.52; coxa 3, 0.22; femur 0.95; tibia 1, 1.21; tibia 2, 1.04; tarsus 0.07; propodus 0.36; main claw 0.20; auxiliary claw 0.17.

Female: In habitus very similar to male, but 7 th article of oviger without a distal pair of spines, 5 flat serrated spines in their place. Femora appreciably broader than in males to contain the ova.

Remarks: Ammothella panamensis is nearly related to A. appendiculata and is distinguished by its very slender trunk and the long legs. The species was mentioned in previous literature as the long-legged form of appendiculata and recorded several times from the tropical western Atlantic. As there were no morphological intermediates between slender and robust specimens and both forms never occurred in the same locality, there is no doubt that the slender form deserves species rank.

While in the Santa Marta region A. appendiculata is restricted to distinctly shallow water, A. panamensis prefers deeper water and was encountered mostly in habitats of coral rubble down to the lower edge of the layer investigated in 30 m depth. A few found in shallow water between 0–1 m come from encrustations on shaded jetty piles in the Santa Marta harbour. Possibly the intensity of lighting may influence the vertical distribution of the species. The few records of ovigerous males are dispersed in months II, IV, VI and IX, which may be indicative of a eurychrony.

Distribution: Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean (see Child 1982: 357, Stock 1955b: 250). As yet, more precise data are not possible, as in existing literature only few indications permit to see, whether A. panamensis had been confused with A. appendiculata .

Figures

FIGURE 10. Ammothella panamensis Child, 2004: A male dorsal, B male lateral, C male cheliphore, D male oviger, E distal 5 articles of male oviger, F female oviger, G distal 5 articles of female oviger.

FIGURE 11. Ammothella panamensis Child, 2004: A female leg 3 with ovules, B male leg 3, C tarsus and propodus of male leg 3, D male palp.