Orthoprotella australis (Haswell, 1880)

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 : 444

Orthoprotella australis (Haswell, 1880)

Fig. 45

Protella australis Haswell, 1880: 276 , pl. 12: fig. 4; Haswell, 1885: 997–998, pl. 49: figs. 2–4; Mayer, 1890: 23.

Orthoprotella australis .—Mayer, 1903: 35–36, pl. 1: figs. 23– 24, pl. 6: figs. 45, 47–49, pl. 9: figs. 14, 37, 57.

Material examined.> 20 specimens, AM P32321 ( GBR 43 ) ; 13, AM P32324 ( GBR 46 ) ; 13, 1♀, 1 juvenile, AM P61692 ( QLD 1559 ) ;> 20 specimens,AM P61693 ( QLD 1560 ) ;> 20 specimens,AM P61694 ( QLD 1562 ) ; 2♀♀, 2 juveniles, AM P61691 ( QLD 1582 ) .

Remarks. Orthoprotella australis is easily distinguished from its congeners by the presence of two acute projections on the head. The species seems to be uncommon on the Great Barrier Reef, but large populations were found on hydroids at Lizard Island.

Distribution. Port Jackson, Australia (Haswell, 1880); off Manning River and Port Stephens, Australia; between Gisser and Ceram Laut, Ceram Sea; Pulu Jedan, Arafura Sea; Banda Sea; Sawu Sea (McCain & Steinberg, 1970); a new record for Queensland, Australia.

Remarks. This species, recently redescribed by Müller (1990), is common in shallow waters of the tropical Indo- Pacific and is clearly the most common species on the Great Barrier Reef. The present specimens are assigned to Metaprotella sandalensis on the basis of the arrangement of the dorsal projections and the absence of a marked suture between the head and pereonite 1 (Larsen, 1997). Nevertheless, the great variety of morphological forms and habitats, even in neighbouring populations (as observed at Lizard Island) could reflect polymorphism or indicate the existence of a species complex. Further studies are necessary to investigate if the variation among specimens is intra- or interspecific.

Distribution. Sandal Bay, Lifu, Loyalty Islands (Mayer, 1898); Labuan Badjo, Borneo; Dongala, Celebes; Pulu Tongkil and 6°07.5'N 120°26'E, Sulu Sea; Amboina; between Gisser and Ceram-Laut, Ceram Sea; Singapore, Malaysia; Koh Chang and Koh Kahdal, Thailand; Dutch Bay, Ceylon; Sharks Bay and Cockburn Sound, Australia; Viti Levu, Fiji Islands; Aranuka and Tapeteucea, Gilbert Islands; Ralum, 4°20'S 152°10W; Oahu and Lisiansky Islands, Hawaiian Islands (McCain & Steinberg, 1970); Bora Bora and Moorea, Society Islands (Müller, 1990); Papua New Guinea (Guerra-García, 2003).

view. (A) male; (B) female. (AM P61693). Scale: 1