Ampithoe ngana Poore & Lowry, 1997

Peart, Rachael A., 2007, A review of the Australian species of Ampithoe Leach, 1814 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Ampithoidae) with descriptions of seventeen new species, Zootaxa 1566 (1), pp. 1-95 : 53-55

Ampithoe ngana Poore & Lowry, 1997

( Figs 40–41 )

Ampithoe ngana Poore & Lowry, 1997: 913–918 , figs 10–13.

Type material. Holotype: AM P45061, female, 9.2 mm, Shark Bay , Port Jackson, NSW, Australia, 33°51.2’S 151°15.9’E, 21 Sep 1994, 1– 2 m, on macroalgae, A.G.B. Poore . Paratypes: AM P45062, male, 13.3 mm, type locality ; AM P45063, male, 8.2 mm, type locality ; AM P45064, males and females, 34 specimens, type locality .

Other material examined. AM P59768–P59770 , AM P59775–P59783, 54 specimens, Clovelly Bay , Sydney, NSW, Australia, 33°55.01’S 151°15.98’E, 16 Dec 1999, 6 m , R. Peart & K. Dempsey ; AM P59760– P59767 , AM P59771–P59774, many specimens, on Dictyota sp. , off Harbord Baths , Sydney, NSW, Australia, 33°46.99’S 151°17.61’E, 8 Dec 1999, 5 m , R. Peart & K. Dempsey .

Diagnosis. Antenna 2 robust, better developed than antenna 1, not densely setose on ventral margin.

Lower lip with lateral lobe longer than medial lobe. Maxilla 1 inner plate with 2 slender setae. Gnathopod 1 carpal lobe acute; carpus shorter than propodus; palm excavate, without midmedial tooth, with posterodistal tooth defining palm; dactylus overreaching palm. Gnathopod 2 with long setae on margins, not plumose; basis posterodistal lobe large and rounded, with setae absent; carpus shorter than propodus; palm acute, entire, without midmedial tooth, with small, subacute posterodistal tooth defining palm, without a defining robust seta; dactylus subequal in length to palm. Pereopod 3 basis narrow; merus narrow. Pereopods 5–7 weakly prehensile. Pereopod 5 merus subrectangular. Uropod 3 peduncle with 7 distal robust setae, outer ramus subequal to inner ramus, without patch of small conical lateral denticles, without lateral setal fringe; inner ramus with 4 distal robust setae. Telson distally rounded, apical cusps small.

Habitat. This species occurs in macroalgae and Sargassum sp. at 1–2 m depth and builds tubes on the surface of blades using detritus. This behaviour resembles that of A. caddi and A. kava ( Poore & Lowry 1997) .

Distribution. Port Jackson; Bawley Point; Ulladulla; Bendalong, New South Wales, southeastern Australia.

Figures

FIGURE 40. Ampithoe ngana Poore & Lowry, 1997, holotype, female, 9.2 mm, AM P45061, Shark Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia.

FIGURE 41. Ampithoe ngana Poore & Lowry, 1997, holotype, female, 9.2 mm, AM P45061; paratype, male, 13.3 mm, AM P45062, Shark Bay, Port Jackson, New South Wales, Australia. Scales for A1–2 and gnathopods and pereopods represent 0.5 mm; scales for mouthparts and U3 and T represent 0.2 mm.