Leptochelia splendida Guţu, 2016: 33–41

Kong, Chim Chee, 2024, A synopsis of the Tanaidacea (Crustacea: Peracarida) of Singapore, with a review of tanaidacean diversity in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea, Zootaxa 5451 (1), pp. 1-75 : 37

Leptochelia splendida Guţu, 2016: 33–41 , figs. 1–4.

Material examined. Station SG86: 1 male (HAN-EXP-10.0-TAN01). Station SG90: 1 incomplete male (SEN- EXP-05.0-TAN01). Station SG91: 1 incomplete male (SEN-PRO-05.0-TAN08).

Remarks. Leptochelia minuta Dana, 1849 from Fiji is the type species of the genus Leptochelia , which has long been suspected to be polyphyletic ( Morales-Núñez et al. 2013). Jarquiìn-Gonzaìlez et al. (2015) provided identification keys for both males and females of the genus, with the most important characters on the uropods, but the usefulness of these tools became limited after the mass transfer of 17 species to its sister genus Chondrochelia by Guţu (2016). Despite the revision, the systematics of Leptochelia still has some existing issues. Guţu (2016) included only five species in Leptochelia sensu stricto, namely L. minuta Dana, 1849 , L. forresti ( Stebbing, 1896) , L. mirabilis Stebbing, 1905 , L. afrieurina Guţu, 2016 and L. splendida , with the males characterised by possessing slender chelipeds that are at least as long as their body. In contrast, Leptochelia sensu lato currently contains 28 species ( Anderson 2023), which have been recorded from intertidal and shallow subtidal (up to 62 m depth) habitats worldwide, except at the poles (Jarquiìn-Gonzaìlez et al. 2015).

The present specimens composed of only males and they are most similar to the males of L. splendida based on the (1) body length of about 2 mm; (2) body length to width proportion of about 5.5; (3) large eyes; (4) elongated antennule peduncle article-1 with length to width proportion of more than 10; (5) antennule peduncle article-2 about half as long as article-1; (6) slender cheliped that is longer than the body ( Fig. 19 ); (7) uropod endopod having six articles and exopod having two articles ( Fig. 19 ); and (8) uropod exopod longer than endopod article-1. Leptochelia splendida was previously recorded only from its type locality in Bunaken Island, Indonesia, at 1–3 m depth ( Guţu 2016), which is relatively close to Singapore. There are, however, some subtle differences between the males of L. cf. splendida and L. splendida such as the number of articles on antennule flagellum (7 vs. 9) and the number of processes on chela fixed finger (2 vs. 1). It remains uncertain whether the L. splendida specimens from Singapore are of the same species as those from Bunaken Island until more specimens have been examined, especially those of females, which are surprisingly absent in the present material. In Singaporean waters, L. splendida was found only from intertidal macroalgal turfs on seawalls at Pulau Hantu and Sentosa (Pulau Blakang Mati) in the Singapore Strait.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Leptochelia cf. splendida Guţu, 2016 adult male, Singapore, HAN-EXP-10.0-TAN01, dorsal habitus, with insets showing left cheliped and uropods. Scale bar = 1 mm.