Hansenium monodi ( Nordenstam, 1946 )

Kensley, B & Schotte, M, 2002, New species and records of Asellota from the Indian Ocean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda), Journal of Natural History 36, pp. 1421-1461 : 1446-1447

Hansenium monodi ( Nordenstam, 1946)

(gure 15)

Stenetrium chiltoni non Stebbing, Monod, 1933: 171, gure 3.

Stenetrium monodi Nordenstam, 1946: 19 , 22; WolV, 1962:22; Schultz, 1982: 20.

Material examined. USNM 253191 , one, one ovigerous, one, two juveniles, sta MS-SEY-1, coral rubble, Mahé Island, Seychelles, 1–2 m, 29 April 1984 ; USNM 253192 , one, one ovigerous, sta K-SEY-16, algal turf on dead coral, Anse à la Mouche, Mahé Island, Seychelles, 2– 5 m, 1 May 1984 ; USNM 253193 , four, algal turf from three stations on Mahé Island, Seychelles, 0.5–6 m, 29 April to 2 May 1984 .

Diagnosis. Rostrum wider than long, anterior margin straight. Lateral margin of pleotelson with single tooth. Eyes reniform. Red-brown pigmentation in broad anterior band on cephalon, narrower posterior band, most of dorsum of pereonites 1 and 2, narrow bands on pereonites 3–6, anterior and posterior band on pleotelson. Pereopod 1 of male, carpus with digitiform posterodistal extension; expanded propodal palm with six teeth, outermost largest; posterior margin of carpus and propodus densely setose; dactylus reaching beyond outermost propodal tooth. Operculum of female pentagonal, length 1.25 times width.

Previous records. Gulf of Suez; Sri Lanka; Amirante Islands.

Remarks. Nordenstam (1946) noted that the male described by Monod (1933) from the Gulf of Suez as S. chiltoni Stebbing, 1905 , could not be that species, given the single pleotelsonic tooth (instead of serrate lateral margins of the pleotelson). Nordenstam proposed the name S. monodi , but gave no further description. Monod’s gures of the Gulf of Suez material, however, showing the cephalon, pleotelson, and pereopod 1 all agree closely with the present material. Stenetrium dodo Müller, 1991d from Réunion Island is very similar to the present species. As indicated in the key above, a diVerence of one tooth on the propodal palm in both male and female seems to be the major diVerences between the species. The colour pattern as illustrated by Müller (1991d, gure 16) is also very similar to H. monodi .