Two Sympatric Species of Axius from the North-West
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TWOSYMP ATRICSPECIES OF AXIUS FROMTHE NORTH-WEST ATLANTIC(DECAPODA, THALASSINIDEA, AXIIDAE) BY BRIAN KENSLEY 1/ Departmentof SystematicBiology, National Museum of NaturalHistory, Smithsonian Institution, Washington,D.C. 20560,U.S.A. ABSTRACT Axiusserratus Stimpson,1852, is redescribed and illustrated, and its distribution based on 54 recordsof 68 specimensis recorded. The sympatric, and rarely recorded Axiusarmatus Smith,1881, isredescribed and illustrated for the rsttime, based on six female specimens from veseparate records.These two species are compared with the eastern Atlantic Axiusstirhynchus Leach,1815. Thethree species can be separated on the basis of the uropodal transverse suture, telsonic and pereopodalspination, and pereopod 4 sternitestructure. RÉSUMÉ Axiusserratus Stimpson,1852 est redé crit et illustréet saré partition gé ographique est donné e, àpartirde 54 signalements de 68 spé cimens. L ’espèce sympatrique Axiusarmatus Smith,1881, rarementrencontré e, est redé crite et illustrée pourla premiè re fois, à partirde sixindividus femelles provenantde cinq stations sé paré es. Ces deux espè ces sont comparé es avec Axiusstirhynchus Leach, 1815,de l’ Atlantiqueoriental. Les trois espè ces peuvent ê trediffé rencié es par la suture transversale del’uropode, les é pinesdu telsonet des pé ré iopodes et en n lastructuredu sternitedu pé ré iopode 4. INTRODUCTION Thegeminate species Axius serratus Stimpson,1852, in the north-western Atlantic, and Axius stirhynchus Leach,1815, in the north-easternAtlantic, are bothlong-established, fairly frequentlyrecorded species. Thata third species of Axius occursin the western NorthAtlantic is oftenoverlooked. In fact, Axius armatus Smith, 1881,has onlybeen mentioned three times in the literature since its description,and has neverbeen illustrated. Thelast mention(Sakai &De Saint Laurent,1989) questioned its positionin the genus Axius.Sixspecimens 1/ e-mail:[email protected] c KoninklijkeBrill NV ,Leiden,2001 Crustaceana 74(9):951-962 ° 952 BRIAN KENSLEY (all females) ofthis species havebeen deposited in the collections ofthe National Museumof Natural History,includingone of Smith’ s syntypes.It was thought useful to ll this gapin the knowledgeof the east coast U.S.shelf fauna,and to describe andillustrate the twowestern NorthAtlantic species, anddocument their distribution. Theholdings of A. serratus in the SmithsonianInstitution, as well as those ofthe Museumof ComparativeZoology, Harvard (most ofwhich were collected byvarious NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service programs)were examined,on the off-chancethat specimens ofthe apparentlyrare A. armatus had beenmisidenti ed. Unfortunately, no furtherspecimens werefound. Abbreviations:cl, carapacelength (posterior orbital marginto posterior cara- pacemargin); MCZ,Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; NOAA,National Oceanicand Atmospheric Agency; USNM, United States Na- tional Museum,Smithsonian Institution; VIMS,Virginia Institute ofMarine Sci- ences. SYSTEMATICS Axius armatus Smith, 1881( gs. 1, 2,4) Axiusarmatus Smith,1881: 433; De Man, 1925: 3, 9,11. ?Calocaride Sakai& DeSaint Laurent, 1989: 101. Materialexamined. — Syntype,USNM 35391, cl13.2 mm (eggspresent in ovaries), R/ V“Fish Hawk”sta. 878, off Martha’ s Vineyard,Massachusetts, 39 ±550N 70±5401500W,260m, 13 September 1880.— USNM 174450,ovigerous cl8.1mm (damaged),off South Carolina, 32 ±300N 78±290W, 218m, coll. K. Shaw,6 June1978. — USNM 174451, cl6.2 mm, offSouth Carolina, 32 ±300N 78±290W,218m, coll. K. Shaw,6June1978. — USNM 243489,2 cl5.6mm, 6.9mm, R/V“Fish Hawk”sta. 949, off Martha’ s Vineyard,Massachusetts, 40 ±030N 70±310W,183m, 23 August 1881. —USNM 306381, cl7.0 mm, George’s Bank,40 ±2201200N 68±3001200W,108m, R/ V“Oceanus” cruiseM10, sta. 12, 13 November1983. Description.— Female syntype.Carapace ( gs. 1A, B, 2A) with rostrum reachingto distal edgeof antennularpeduncle article 2,armedwith 3to 6teeth (4in 3specimens), posteriormost in supraocularposition, but not enlarged, rostral marginproduced posteriorly as nelateral carina; submediancarina aneridge anteriorly recurved,lacking teeth; mediancarina bearing2 or3 teeth (3in one specimen),unarmed posterior to tubercle.Sternal plate betweenbases ofpereopods 4(g. 2C) with lateral angerounded. Abdominal pleura ( g. 1C) ventrally broadlyrounded, that ofabdominal somite 2broadest.Telson ( g. 1D)about 1.5 times longerthan basal width; lateral margins with 4serrations, posterior margin convex,with small spine at midpoint;dorsal surface with 3spines onleft half,2 on right. N.W.ATLANTIC AXIUS 953 Fig. 1. Axiusarmatus Smith,1881, syntype USNM 35391.A, carapacein lateral view ,scale D 5mm; B,anteriorcarapace in dorsal view; C, abdomen,telson and right uropod in lateral view; D,telsonand right uropod in dorsal view; E, pereopod1 smallercheliped; F ,pereopod1 larger cheliped;G, pereopod2; H, pereopod3; I,pereopod4; J, pereopod5; K, maxilliped3; L, pleopod1; M,pleopod2. Antennularpeduncle reaching to midlengthof antennal peduncle article 4; agella subequalto lengthof carapace. Antennal peduncle ( g. 1A) article 3 with strongdistal spine onupper margin, small distal spine onventral; acicle slender,dagger-shaped, reaching two-thirds alongarticle 4; article 5aboutone- third lengthof article 4;agellum abouttwice carapacelength. Maxilliped 3(g. 1K),ischium, merus,carpus, propodus, and dactylus bearingdense band of setae 954 BRIAN KENSLEY Fig. 2. Axiusarmatus Smith,1881, USNM 306381.A, carapacein lateral view ,scale 5 mm; D B,pereopod1 largercheliped; C, sternitebetween pereopod 4 bases;D, Axiusserratus Stimpson, 1852,USNM 20864,sternite between pereopod 4 bases;E, Axiusstirhynchus Leach,1815, USNM 252600,sternite between pereopod 4 bases. onlowermargin; merus with 3teeth onventral marginincreasing in lengthdistally; carpuswith toothat posterodistal angle; crista dentata ofischium having20 teeth. Pereopod1, larger cheliped( gs. 1F ,2B),ischium lackingarmament; merus with uppermargin strongly carinate, lowermargin bearing 4 teeth in proximal half; propoduswith upperand lower margins stronglycarinate, uppermargin endingdistally in single small tooth, xed ngershorter thandactylus, probably regenerating,with single strongtriangular cuspon cutting edge.Pereopod 1, smaller cheliped( g. 1E), merus with single toothon carinate uppermargin, 4 proximalteeth onlower margin; upperand lower margins ofpropodus strongly carinate, uppermargin with single distal tooth; cutting edgeof xed ngerwith tinyproximal serrations, necorneousstiff spine-like setae distally; cutting edge ofdactylus with necorneoussetae. Pereopod2 (g. 1G), merus with 4teeth and numerouselongate setae onlower margin; carpusand propodus with numerous setae alongupper and lower margins; cutting edgesof chela ngersbearing short spine-like setae. Pereopod3 (g. 1H), carpus and propodus bearing elongate setae alongupper and lower margins; dactylus with nesetae alonglower margin. Pereopod4 (g. 1I), propodus with distal denseoblique clump of cleaningsetae; dactylus bearingrow of about 7 corneousspine-like setae onlateral surface. Pereopod5 (g. 1J), propodus with numeroussetae onlower distal margin; N.W.ATLANTIC AXIUS 955 dactylus twisted, with setae alongupper margin. Pleopod 1 (g. 1L) consisting ofsingle slender setose ramus.Pleopods 2-5 ( g. 1M) with appendixinterna at midpointof mesial marginof endopod. Uropodal lateral ramus (g. 1D),lateral marginwith about9 serrations distally,slender articulating spine at angleof transverse suture,7 spines alongtransverse suture; uropodalmesial ramus with 3serrations distally onlateral margin,strong spine at distal angle,7 spines along middorsal ridge. Branchial formula: Maxilliped1 – – epipodite – – Maxilliped2 –podobranch epipodite,1 arthrobranchs – C Maxilliped3 setobranch,podobranch epipodite,2 arthrobranchs – C Pereopod1 setobranch,podobranch epipodite,2 arthrobranchs – C Pereopod2 setobranch,podobranch epipodite,2 arthrobranchs,1 pleurobranch C Pereopod3 setobranch,podobranch epipodite,2 arthrobranchs,1 pleurobranch C Pereopod4 setobranch, epipodite,2 arthrobranchs,1 pleurobranch Pereopod 5 – – – – – Variation. —Thelateral rostral teeth forthe three undamagedadditional specimens available vary:4/ 3,4/ 4,5/ 6(syntype4/ 5),but all specimens have twoteeth onthe mediancarina anterior to the tubercle.The larger chelipedof pereopod1 in the USNM306381 female, has asmall toothon the lowermargin ofthe propodus,and a strongtooth on the lowermargin of the ischium, neither of whichare present in the syntypicfemale. Distribution. —Massachusetts to SouthCarolina, depth range 108-260 m. Remarks.— Thefollowing features place this species in the genus Axius: uropodallateral ramus with transverse suture; pereopodalepipods present; ros- trum notspike-like, longerthan eyes, dentate; maxilliped 3exopodnot clearly bent; pleopods2-5 with appendixinterna; antenna2 acicle (scaphocerite) simple; pleurobranchspresent; supraocularspines absent (see Poore,1994: 97). In addi- tion,the three species mentionedhere all havean unarmed submedian carina of the carapace,with the anterior endcharacteristically exedtowards the midline. Smith (1881)mentions “animperfect male specimen : : :”alongwith the de- scription ofthe female. This male syntypehas notbeen located in the USNM collections. Axius serratus Stimpson,1852 ( gs. 3, 4) Axiusserratus Stimpson,1852: 222; Smith, 1879: 55, pl. 10 gs.4, 4a; 1881: 435; Rathbun, 1929: 25, g.32; Williams, 1974: 17, g.46A, B; Pembertonet al., 1976: 790; Williams & Wigley, 1977:3, 4, 5,8, 16; Williams, 1984: 185, 187,