Baharilana lira, Schotte & Kensley, 2005

Schotte, Marilyn & Kensley, Brian, 2005, New species and records of Flabellifera from the Indian Ocean (Crustacea: Peracarida: Isopoda), Journal of Natural History 39 (16), pp. 1211-1282 : 1215-1218

Baharilana lira sp. nov.

( Figures 3 , 4 )

Material examined

Holotype: USNM 280271 , one male (3.4 mm), IIOE sta 453, off Somalia, 11 ° 119N, 51 ° 149E, 47–49 m, 17 December 1964 . Paratypes: USNM 280272 , one male, four females, same data as holotype . USNM 280273 , four males, five females , IIOE sta 446, off Somalia, 9 ° 419N, 51 ° 039E, 60–70 m, 16 December 1964 . USNM 280274 , two males, one female , IIOE sta 437, off Somalia, 9 ° 259N, 50 ° 549E, 85–95 m, 16 December 1964 .

Description

Male. Body length more than three times greatest width. Integument of pereon covered with flattened, mosaic-like granules. Cephalon rugose with anterior margin smoothly rounded, with thickened anterior ridge, dorsal interocular suture absent; dorsal surface of cephalon and pereonite 1 with several indistinct transverse ridges; anterolateral margins of cephalon produced and bearing carinae in lateral view; posterior margin with two short, lateral sutures. Pereonites 2–7 rugose, each with medial transverse ridge meeting double transverse carinae near lateral margins; posterior margins of all pereonites appearing granular. Coxae all with strong, entire oblique carinae; coxae 3–6 nearly acute apically. Pleon without ornamentation. Pleotelson with strong mid-dorsal carina; triangular in shape, apex narrowly rounded, bearing four short, spine-like setae among plumose setae.

Antennular flagellum with four articles; articles 1 and 2 not fused, combined length twice that of article 3. Antennal flagellum with seven to eight articles. Frontal lamina pentagonal, not flat but with raised hump near acute apex; lateral margins upcurved and converging slightly toward base; greatest width subequal to length. Maxilla 1 and 2 and mandible as figured.

Pereopod 1 with three blunt robust setae, single slender seta and two thicker, flagellated setae on merus. Pereopods 2 and 7 as figured. Penes projecting, close together, separated by about 3% of sternite width.

Pleopod 1 operculate, endopod small, only three-quarters length and one-quarter width of exopod, setose only distally; exopod width four-fifths of length. Pleopod 2, appendix masculina stout, broadly rounded at apex, covered with minute setules, extending beyond exopod by about one-fifth of length, distally curving laterad. Pleopods 3–5, endopod with complete sutures. Pleopods 3 and 4, endopod markedly shorter than exopod and bearing few plumose setae. Pleopod 5 endopod lacking setae. Uropodal exopod length about three times width, lateral margin without spine-like setules, with simple setae in notches; apex somewhat blunt with long setae; medial margin bearing two stout setules and long, simple setae. Uropodal endopod with two setules on lateral margin and four spine-like setae on medial margin amongst long plumose setae.

Female. As in male, excepting sexual characters.

Remarks

The new species is quite distinctive due to easily seen characters of the habitus. The cephalon and first pereonite are rugose, not the case in any other congener. The double carinae near the lateral margins of pereonites 2–7, joined dorsally by a transverse ridge, are also unique as are shape of the frontal lamina and presence of a single longitudinal carina on the pleotelson.

Etymology

The specific name is from the Latin ‘‘lira’’, a ridge or furrow, and refers to the transverse dorsal ridges found on the pereon.

Genus Cirolana Leach, 1818

Restricted synonymy. Cirolana Leach 1818, p 347 ; Bruce 1986, p 139; Kensley and Schotte 1989, p 132; Brusca et al. 1995, p 17.

Diagnosis

Pleonite 1 often concealed by pereonite 7; pleonite 5 lateral margins covered by those of pleonite 4. Pleotelson posterior margin with setae and spines. Antennular peduncle article 3 longest. Antennal peduncle articles 4–5 longest. Frontal lamina flat, about twice as long as wide; clypeus sessile. Pereopods 1–3 with anterodistal margins of ischium and merus not produced. Pleopod peduncle without lateral lobes; only endopod of pleopod 5 without setae. Appendix masculina inserted basally.

Below is presented a key to 23 known species of Cirolana from the western Indian Ocean ( Bruce 1994a), without implying phylogenetic relationships among them. It is based on characters of adult males. Kensley (2001) has provided a complete list of Cirolana species from the entire Indian Ocean region; to this may be added two species from Phuket, Thailand described by Bruce and Olesen (2002).

Figures

Figure 3. Baharilana lira sp. nov. (A) Male, dorsal view; (B) male, lateral view; (C) pleotelson and uropods; (D) maxilla 1; (E) maxilla 2; (F) maxilliped; (G) mandible; (H) penes, in situ; (I) penes; (J) frons.

Figure 4. Baharilana lira sp. nov. (A) Pleopod 1; (B) male pleopod 2; (C) pleopod 3; (D) pleopod 4; (E) pleopod 5; (F) pereopod 1; (G) dactylus of pereopod 1; (H) pereopod 2; (I) pereopod 7.