Ampithoe kulafi Barnard, 1970

Hughes, Lauren E. & Peart, Rachael A., 2013, New species and new records of Ampithoidae (Peracarida: Amphipoda) from Australian Waters, Zootaxa 3719 (1), pp. 1-102 : 9-11

Ampithoe kulafi Barnard, 1970

? Pleonexes sp. —J.L. Barnard, 1965: 542–543, fig. 34.

Ampithoe kulafi J.L. Barnard, 1970: 50 .—Sivaprakasam, 1971: 77–79, fig. 6.—J.L. Barnard, 1979: 21.—Ledoyer, 1973: 26, pl. 1.—Ledoyer, 1979: 146, fig. 31.—Conlan, 1982: 2020.—Myers, 1985: 40–42, fig. 29.—Barnard & Karaman, 1991: 104.—Myers, 1997: 108.—Ortiz & Lalana, 1999: 193.—Ren, 2001: 66.—Ren, 2006: 210–212, fig. 78.

Pleonexes kulafi .—Myers, 1986: 287.—Myers, 1989: 66.—Myers, 1995b: 38.

Not Ampithoe kulafi —Ledoyer, 1982: 120–121, fig. 39. (= A. lafkui Appadoo & Myers, 2004 ).

Type locality. The west reef between Elangalap Islet and north tip of Falarik Islet, Ifaluk Island, Caroline Islands.

Material examined. Christmas Island: 12 specimens, AM P.81787, dive site “Chicken Farm” (10°24’56”S 105°41’03”E), 12 m, fine red algae and dead coral Acropora sp., 23 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry (MI WA 930); 1 specimen, AM P.81789, dive site “Chicken Farm” (10°24’56”S 105°41’03”E), 14 m, rubble with fine red algae, 23 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry (MI WA 933); 4 specimens, AM P.81792, dive site “Chicken Farm” (10°24’56”S 105°41’03”E), 14.8 m, rubble with fine brown algae, 23 October 2008, coll. K.B. Attwood (MI WA 926); 3 specimens, AM P.81793, dive site “Million Dollar Bommie” (10°27’22”S 105°38’11”E), 14 m, coral Acropora sp. with tufted algae, sand and red algae, 18 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry and K.B. Attwood (MI WA 867); 1 specimen, AM P.81794, dive site “Million Dollar Bommie” (10°27’22”S 105°38’11”E), 12 m, coarse rubble, 18 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry (MI WA 866); 1 specimen, AM P.81791, Eidsvold Wreck (10°26’34”S 105°39’32”E), 10.6 m, algae covered plate coral Acropora sp., 24 October 2008, coll. K.B. Attwood (MI WA 946); 1 specimen, AM P.81788, Merriel Beach (10°28’26”S 105°33’29”E), 15.5 m, rubble, 21 October 2008, coll. L.E. Hughes (MI WA 904); 1 specimen, AM P.81790, West White Beach (10°27’41”S 105°34’54”E), 7.9 m, green calcareous alga Halimeda sp., 18 October 2008, coll. L.E. Hughes and K.B. Attwood (MI WA 868).

Cocos (Keeling) Islands: 3 specimens, AM P.81871, dive site “Winter Wall”, near Horsburgh Island (12°05’15”S 96°50’14”E), 3 m, mooring buoy, 12 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry (MI WA 838); 4 specimens, AM P.81870, northeast corner of the lagoon (12°06’18”S 96°51’11”E), 3 m, seagrass beds Thalassia hemprichii base and stems covered in epiphytes, 10 October 2008, coll. J.K. Lowry (MI WA 810); 10 specimens, AM P.81872, northeast corner of the lagoon (12°06’18”S 96°51’11”E), 3 m, seagrass beds Thalassia hemprichii , 10 October 2008, coll. L.E. Hughes (MI WA 813); 1 specimen, AM P.82182, West Island ( Pulo Panjang) (12°10’S 96°49’E), on algae with rubble, reef flat, 26 April 1979, coll. H. Cogger and R. Sadlier.

Western Australia: 9 specimens, WAM C52221, Long Reef, The Kimberley (13°49’11”S 125°46’48”E), intertidal, 23 October 2010, coll. Andrew Hosie (55/K10-Q1, Woodside Kimberley Survey 2010).

Remarks. Material examined here extends the distribution of A. kulafi into the southeast Indian Ocean.

Distribution. Ifaluk Islands (Barnard 1965). Madagascar (Ledoyer 1979, 1982). Fiji (Myers 1985). Tonga (Myers 1986a). Kosrae (Myers 1995). Western Samoa (Myers 1997). South China Sea: Hainan Island (Ren 2001; 2006). Indian Ocean: Madras, India (Sivaprakasam 1970); Western Australia, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island (current study).