Procampylaspis hildegardae, Mühlenhardt-Siegel, Ute, 2008

Mühlenhardt-Siegel, Ute, 2008, The Cumacea of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with the description of four new species and one genus, Zootaxa 1828, pp. 1-17 : 14-15

Procampylaspis hildegardae sp. nov.

( Figs 9–10 )

Type material. Holotype: female with fully developed oostegites, ZMH: K 41948 16 March 1987; type locality: inner Gulf of Aden, 12°30.9'N 44°47.7'E, 76 m depth, RV Meteor cruise 5/2, Station 283, Kurre; M. Türkay leg.

Paratype: female, ZMH: K 41949 ; 8 March 1987; Gulf of Aden, off Aden, 12°30.7'N 45°41.4'E, 1315 m depth, RV Meteor, cruise 5/2, Station 247, box corer; M. Türkay leg.

Etymology. The new species is dedicated to Mrs. Hildegard Siegel, the author’s very much esteemed mother-in-law.

Diagnosis. Carapace smooth, without any dorsomedian teeth; three long and one short claw-like dactylus spines on maxilliped 2, proximal tooth longest; ischium of pereiopod 1 longer than merus and carpus combined.

Description. Holotype adult female 3.6 mm total length ( Fig. 9 ), carapace smooth, elongate, 0.4 times total length; pseudorostral lobes meeting in front of ocular lobe; siphonal tube as long as distance from frontal lobe to anterior margin of pseudorostrum; ocular lobe elongate, no visual elements; antennal notch small and narrow; anterolateral tooth subacute; anteroventral margin of carapace smooth; integument calcified, rough surface due to microgranulate structure.

Five free thoracic segments visible, the first shorter; pleon shorter than the carapace and free thoracic segments combined; pleonite 6 as wide as long.

Antenna 1 ( Fig. 10 , A1): relative lengths of peduncle articles 1 to 3: 55/26/19; accessory flagellum not discernable, main flagellum two articulate, with two aesthetascs.

Mouthparts not dissected in order to preserve the holotype.

Maxilliped 2 ( Fig. 10 , Mxp2): B/R ratio 0.3, RLA: 6/18//25/36/15. Typical claw-like dactylus with three long and one short spine, proximal tooth longest; proximal part of dactylus and total propodus with hyaline membrane along the inner margin, only visible in higher magnification; strong pappose seta from each distal margin of basis and merus.

Maxilliped 3 ( Fig. 10 , Mxp3): B/R ratio 0.8, RLA: 8/32/21 /23/16; strong pappose seta from each distal outer margin of basis (two setae), merus, and carpus; exopod present.

Pereiopod 1 ( Fig. 10 , P1): B/R ratio 0.5, RLA: 36/16/ 15/23/10; very long ischium, longer than the merus and carpus combined; exopod present.

Pereiopod 2 ( Fig. 10 , P2): P/R ratio 0.6, RLA: 5/20/33 /14/27, dactylus tapering, with pappose setae along margins, terminal seta broken; exopod present.

Pereiopod 3 ( Fig. 10 , P3): B/R ratio not given; basis broken during dissection, RLA: 17/24/ 36/15/8.

Pereiopods 4 and 5 damaged (not drawn).

Uropod peduncle 2.1 times as long as pleonite 6, 2 times as long as uropod endopod; exopod shorter than endopod, the latter uni-articulate and with three strong setae along inner margin ( Fig. 10 , U).

Remarks. Within the subgroup of species in the genus Procampylaspis lacking one or more teeth along the dorsomedian line of the carapace, the new species most resembles Procampylaspis abyssicola ( Norman, 1879) in terms of the habitus. P. hildegardae sp. nov. differs from this species in having only 4 dactylus teeth of the maxilliped 2 (vs. 5 in P. abyssicola ). It is not unusual for species in the genus Procampylaspis to have a long ischium of pereiopod 1, however, the new species is unique in the genus by the ischium of the pereiopod 1 being longer than merus and carpus combined. This character is clearly discernible in both specimens from different depths.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Procampylaspis hildegardae sp. nov., holotype female, habitus from lateral and dorsal view; scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURE 10. Procampylaspis hildegardae sp. nov., holotype female, appendages, scale bars: 0.1 mm. Scale a: P 1: pereiopod 1; P 2: pereiopod 2; U: pleonite 5 and 6, right uropod. Scale b: A 1: antenna 1; Mxp 2: maxilliped 2; P 3: pereiopod 3. Scale c: Mxp 3: maxilliped 3. Scale d: at higher magnification, accessory flagellum of A 1, Mxp 2.