Parapontocaris levigata Chace, 1984

Kuberan, G., Chakraborty, Rekha Devi, Purushothaman, P. & Maheswarudu, G., 2018, Two new records of deep sea shrimp under the genus Parapontocaris (Crustacea: Decapoda: Crangonidae) from the southwestern coast of India, Zootaxa 4450 (5), pp. 581-584 : 581-582

Parapontocaris levigata Chace, 1984

(Fig. 1)

? Aegeon (Parapontocaris) andamanense— Balss 1925: 296 (80). Wood-Mason & Alcock 1891.? Aegeon bengalense— Calman 1939: 211. Wood-Mason & Alcock 1891.

Parapontocaris levigata Chace 1984: 34 , figs 12–14.— Holthuis 1993, fig. 292.— Chan 1996: 324.

Material examined: Southeastern Arabian Sea, Kalamuku, off Cochin, Kerala, India, 250–300 m depth, December 2013, 1 male (CL 11 mm), CMFRI: ED.2.6.1.6

Characters of specimen from off Kerala Rostrum relatively long. Dorsal carina armed with 5 teeth; lateral carina I with four teeth, lateral carina II with 6 teeth; lateral carina III with 2 teeth posterior to branchiostegal spine. Branchiostegal spine extended to midlength of antennal scale, directed antero-laterally. Branchiostegal spine was larger than antennal spine. Pleomere II armed with 2 dorsal spines; pleomere III generally with oblique ridges on lateral part; pleomere IV usually with lateral ridges, posterior part of pleomere V without a ridge, pleomere VI with 5 spines on dorsolateral carina. Pereiopod 1 overreaching antennal scale by length of chela. Pereiopod 2 carpus anteriorly extended of first pereiopod. Pereiopod 3 overreaching antennal scale by lengths of dactyl and propodus. Pereiopod 4 and 5 reaching about midlength of antennal scale. Uropods reaching nearly to the posterior end of telson.

Coloration: Body pale reddish white. Eyes are dark brown. Posterior part of uropods reddish white.

Remarks: The present specimens agree with the original description of Chace (1984) and the diagnosis of Chan (1996). However, the present specimen collected from Kerala had six teeth on lateral carina II which is similar to P. andamanensis . Presence of 2nd abdominal somite with 2 dorsal spines (Fig 1 C) in P. levigata but absent in P. andamanensis . Moreover, P. levigata which is closely related to P. bengalensis armed with only one dorsal spine in the second abdomen. The P. levigata individual was obtained from mixed deep sea shrimp landings, along with species Plesionika quasigrandis and Heterocarpus chani . The present study indicates that P. levigata are also distributed in the Indian Ocean.

Distribution. This species is widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Philippines, Indonesia and Madagascar, at depths of 217–605 m ( Chan 1996) and in Indian coast at the depth of 250– 300 m.

FIGURE 1.