Austrolibinia gracilipes (Miers, 1879)

Manikandan, K, Megalaa, N, Valliappan, Subramanian, Nandini, K, Rani, Lourdu V, Dakshinamurthi, Senthil & Nagappan, Nagappan, 2022, Crabs (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the Seas of East and Southeast Asia Collected by the RV Hakuhō Maru (KH- 72 - 1 Cruise) 3. Sahul Shelf, Bulletin of the National Museum of Nature and Science. Series A, Zoology 48 (2), pp. 35-83 : 47

Austrolibinia gracilipes (Miers, 1879)

( Fig. 6D–E )

Material examined. RV Hakuhō Maru KH-72-1 cruise, sta. 29, 1 Ə ( CB 12.2 × PCL 13.7 mm), 1 ovig. ♀ (8.3× 10.7 mm), 1 juv. (4.8× 6.1 mm), NSMT-Cr 30713. — Sta. 30, 1Ə ( CB 11.0× PCL 9.5 mm), NSMT-Cr-30714; 1 ovig. ♀ (7.8×7.0 mm), NSMT-Cr 30715. — Sta. 32, 1 ovig. ♀ ( CB 13.2 × PCL 13.0 mm), 1♀ (12.0× 11.8 mm), NSMT-Cr 30716 .

Remarks. The genus Austrolibinia was established by Griffin (1966b) for two Indo-West Pacific species of the genus Chorilibinia Lockington, 1877 , and now comprised of four species, all from the Indo-West Pacific: A. andamanica ( Alcock, 1895) , A. capricornensis Griffin and Tranter, 1986 , A. gracilipes (Miers, 1879) , and A. pincerna Wagner, 1992 . Of these, the type species, A. gracilipes , is characteristic in having a long rostrum diverging only distally ( Fig. 6D ). The specimens of both sexes in the present collection essentially agree with the original description by Miers (1879) and the illustration of the G1 by Griffin and Tranter (1986: fig. 33c– d). It should be noted, however, that the carapace dorsal spines are not so pronounced in females as in males ( Fig. 6E vs. Miers, 1879: pl. 4 fig. 4a).

Distribution. Northwestern and northeastern Australia, Kai Islands, Aru Island, Papua New Guinea; 16–115 m depth ( Davie, 2002; present study). Poore et al. (2008) also recorded this species, with a photograph of the carapace, from southern Western Australia, 100 m depth.

Figures

Fig. 6.ɹA: Hyastenus campbelli Griffin and Tranter, Ə (NSMT-Cr 30717; CB 7.7mm excluding lateral tubercles×PCL 12.4mm) from sta. 29. Dorsal view. B–C: Phalangipus australiensis Rathbun, ovig. ♀ (NSMT-Cr 30724; CB 13.2mm×PCL 13.0mm) from sta. 32. Dorsal (B) and lateral (C) views. D–E: Austrolibinia gracilipes (Miers), Ə (NSMT-Cr 30714; CB 11.0mm excluding lateral spines×PCL 9.5 mm) from sta. 30. Dorsal (D) and anterior dorsal (E) views. F–H: Hyastenus kyusyuensis (Yokoya), Ə (NSMT-Cr 30720; CB 5.3mm excluding branchial spines×PCL 8.7mm) from sta. 29. Dorsal (F), ventral (G) and lateral (H) views.