Holthuisaeus, a New Genus for Periclimenes (Periclimenaeus) Bermudensis Armstrong, 1940 (Decapoda, Palaemonidae, Pontoniinae)
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HOLTHUISAEUS, A NEW GENUS FOR PERICLIMENES (PERICLIMENAEUS) BERMUDENSIS ARMSTRONG, 1940 (DECAPODA, PALAEMONIDAE, PONTONIINAE) BY ARTHUR ANKER1,3) and SAMMY DE GRAVE2,4) 1) Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-7800, U.S.A. 2) Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PW, United Kingdom ABSTRACT A new pontoniine genus, Holthuisaeus gen. nov., is established for the western Atlantic sponge-dwelling shrimp species, Periclimenes (Periclimenaeus) bermudensis Armstrong, 1940. The new genus appears to be related to three other genera containing sponge-dwelling species, Periclimenaeus Borradaile, 1915, Climeniperaeus Bruce, 1994, and Paraclimenaeus Bruce, 1988, sharing with them the presence of a fossa-molar process mechanism on the chela of the major second pereiopod. However, the combination of the plunger being situated on the fixed finger and the fossa on the dactylus, the carpus of the second pereiopods dorsally excavated and bearing a strong process, the vestigial mandibular incisor process, the presence of a short process on the fourth thoracic sternite, and the absence of an appendix masculina on the male second pleopod separates Holthuisaeus from all other pontoniine genera. RÉSUMÉ Holthuisaeus gen. nov., un nouveau genre des crevettes pontoniinées, est établi pour Per- iclimenes (Periclimenaeus) bermudensis Armstrong, 1940, une espèce de l’Océan Atlantique Occidental associée aux éponges. Le nouveau genre semble être apparenté aux trois autres genres contenant des espèces spongicoles, Periclimenaeus Borradaile, 1915, Climeniperaeus Bruce, 1994, et Paraclimenaeus Bruce, 1988, partageant avec ces derniers la présence d’un sys- tème dent-cavité sur la pince du grand chelipède. Toutefois, la combinaison de la dent située sur le doigt fixe et la cavité sur le dactyle, la face dorsale du carpe des chelipèdes (P2) déprimée et 3) e-mail: aanker@flmnh.ufl.edu 4) e-mail: [email protected] © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010 Studies on Malacostraca: 115-131 116 CRM 014 – Fransen et al. (eds.), LIPKE BIJDELEY HOLTHUIS MEMORIAL VOLUME fournie d’un fort prolongement, le processus incisif de la mandibule rudimentaire, la présence d’un court processus sur le sternum du quatrième sternite thoracique, ainsi que l’absence de l’appendix masculina sur le deuxième pléopode des mâles permet de séparer Holthuisaeus de tous les autres genres des Pontoniinae. INTRODUCTION Armstrong (1940) described Periclimenes (Periclimenaeus) bermudensis on the basis of four ovigerous females, found inside a black sponge in The Reach, St. George Island, Bermuda. He highlighted the similarity of his new species to Periclimenaeus fimbriatus Borradaile, 1915, presumably in reference to the fact that both species share, on the major second pereiopod, a fixed finger with a molar tooth (= plunger) and the dactylus with a fossa (= socket), in sharp contrast to all other species then assigned to the genus Periclimenaeus Borradaile, 1915, which all have a plunger on the dactylus and a fossa on the fixed finger. Holthuis (1951) redescribed the species as Periclimenaeus bermudensis on the basis of further material from the Bahamas and Florida, again remarking upon the similarity of this species to P. fimbriatus. Although P. bermudensis has been found on quite a few further occasions, no detailed study of its morphology has since appeared. Periclimenaeus fimbriatus, the species that both Armstrong (1940) and Holthuis (1951) believed to be most closely related to P. bermudensis,was placed in its own genus, Paraclimenaeus Bruce, 1988, with one of its defining features being the reverse molar-fossa arrangement on the major chela (Bruce, 1988). Recently, Paraclimenaeus was further enlarged by Bruce (2009) by transferring one further species from Periclimenaeus and two species from Apopontonia Bruce and now contains four Indo-West Pacific species, viz. P. fimbriatus, P. dentimanus (Mitsuhashi & Chan, 2008), P. spinicauda (Bruce, 1969) and P. seticauda (Bruce, 2008). Freshly collected material, deposited in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, UK (OUMNH), as well as older material from the Marine Invertebrate Museum of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Florida (UMML), allows for a fresh appraisal of the morphology of P. bermudensis, clearly demonstrating that a new genus is warranted to accommodate this peculiar species. Post- orbital carapace length (pocl, in mm) is used as a standard measurement of size..