Hircella berentsae, Guerra-García, 2006

Guerra-García, J. M., 2006, Caprellidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Great Barrier Reef and Adjacent Localities, Records of the Australian Museum 58, pp. 417-458 : 423-424

Hircella berentsae n.sp.

Figs 7–11

Type material. HOLOTYPE 3, AM P61610, outer slope,W of “Yoshin Maru Iwaki”, Elizabeth Reef , Australia, 29°57.2'S 159°01.2'E, coral rubble, 8– 24 m, St 30, J.K. Lowry & R.T. Springthorpe, 12 Dec 1987 . PARATYPES: 1♀, AM P61611, type locality; 233 , 3♀♀, AM P61612, type locality .

Additional material examined. 1 juvenile AM P61653 ( QLD 980 ); 433 , 2♀♀, 1 juvenile,AM P61613 (st 14) ;> 20 specimens,AM P61614 (st 21) ; 3♀♀, AM P61615 (st 30) ; 2♀♀, AM P61616 (st 36) ; 2♀♀, AM P61617 (st 43).

Etymology. This species is named after Penny Berents, Australian Museum, for her kindness and hospitality during my stay at the Australian Museum, and for facilitating the present study.

Diagnosis. Body smooth dorsally. Gills on pereonites 2–4. Antenna 1 shorter than half of the body. Distal article of the mandibular palp with 3–4 setae. Pereopods 3 and 4 absent. Pereopod 5 uniarticulate, present in males and females. Abdomen with two pairs of uniarticulate abdominal appendages.

Description

Holotype male. Body length 3.7 mm. Lateral view ( Fig. 7A). Body dorsally smooth. Head rounded. Eyes small. Pereonite 1 fused with head, suture not present; pereonites 2–5 increasing in length; pereonite 7 shortest. Gills ( Fig. 7A). Present on pereonites 2–4, oval, length about two times width. Gills on pereonite 4 slightly shorter than those on pereonite 2 and 3. Mouthparts. Upper lip ( Fig. 8B) symmetrically bilobed, slightly pubescent apically. Mandibles ( Fig. 9A,B) with 3-articulate palp; distal article of palp with three apical setae; second article with eight simple setae; mandibular molar absent; left mandible ( Fig. 9B) with 5-toothed incisor, lacinia mobilis 5-toothed followed by a row of minutely serrated plates decreasing in size; incisor of right mandible ( Fig. 9A) 5-toothed, lacinia mobilis deeply serrate, followed by a row of minutely serrate plates; molar flake absent. Lower lip ( Fig. 8C) with inner lobes well demarcated; inner and outer lobes without setulae. Maxilla 1 ( Fig. 8D) outer lobe with six robust setae, serrate laterally; distal article of palp with six apical setae and row of six setae medially. Maxilla 2 ( Fig. 8E) inner lobe rectangular with seven setae distally; outer lobe oval, twice as long as inner lobe, with eight apical setae. Maxilliped ( Fig. 8A) inner plate rectangular with six setae; outer plate smaller than the inner plate, with setae; palp four-articulate; dactylus with a row of setulae. Antennae. Antenna 1 ( Fig. 10A) robust, about one-third of body length; flagellum four-articulate. Antenna 2 ( Fig. 10B) about onethird length of antenna 1; swimming setae absent; flagellum 2-articulate. Gnathopods. Gnathopod 1 ( Fig. 10C) basis as long as ischium, merus and carpus combined; propodus oval, length about 1.2 times width, palm with pair of grasping spines proximally and two rows of smaller spines along palm; dactylus robust and curved, with short setae medially. Gnathopod 2 ( Fig. 10D) inserted on the posterior half of pereonite 2; basis as long as pereonite 2; ischium rectangular; merus rounded; carpus short and triangular; propodus rectangular, about 1.2 times as long as basis; palm with three grasping spines proximally and distal projection; dactylus curved and narrowed distally, smooth. Pereopods. Pereopod 5 ( Fig. 11A) extremely reduced, with distal seta. Pereopods 6 and 7 ( Fig. 11C,D) robust; basis without carina, ischium short and rectangular; propodus palm with two pairs of robust spines proximally and a row of smaller spines along occlusal margin. Penes ( Fig. 11E,F) situated laterally, length about 1.2 times width. Abdomen ( Fig. 11E,F) with pair of small projections, each with two setae distally (probably vestigial pleopods), two pairs of long uniarticulate appendages (uropods), and a single dorsal lobe.