Seguapallene cf. micronesica Child, 1983

Arango, Claudia P., 2003, Sea spiders (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: new species, new records and ecological annotations, Journal of Natural History 37 (22), pp. 2723-2772 : 2746

Seguapallene cf. micronesica Child, 1983

Seguapallene micronesica Child, 1983: 709–711 , figure 4; 1991: 145.

Material examined. Chilcott Island, 1 m, in Halimeda sp. , Amphiroa sp. and rubble washings, 10–15 m, 14 September 1998, one X; Willis Reef, 15–16 m, two juveniles (coll. Diaz-Pulido).

Description. The material collected was not in good condition and it only allowed comparison with the Indo-west Pacific species Seguapallene micronesica . The specimens all have separated crurigers and a short main propodal claw, and the triangle-shaped teeth of the chelae, different from the sister species described from Lizard Island, S. crassa Child (1990: 321) . The two juveniles show the same characteristics as the female.

Distribution. Seguapallene micronesica was described from the intertidal at Palau Islands, followed by a record from Guam (Child, 1991) that expanded its Pacific distribution to the north-east. This record suggests a wider distribution confined to littoral habitats of the tropical Pacific.

Remarks. This is a rare genus of six recognized species, one known from the sub-Antarctic, the others collected in Indo-Pacific localities (Child, 1991). The species is characterized by a long denticulate terminal claw and large and robust chelifores.