NOTES AND NEWS

THE REDISCOVERY OF THE CRAB, PARAGALENE LONGICRURA (NARDO, 1868) (DECAPODA, BRACHYURA, XANTHIDAE) IN THE

BY

ARMIN PALLAORO1) Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Šetalište I. Meštrovica´ 63, HR-21000 Split,

The Adriatic fauna of the family Xanthidae comprises six free-living, bottom dwelling species of decapods (Türkay, 2001) that are considered to be (Števciˇ c,´ 1969, 1990) in the Adriatic Sea: abundant, Xantho poressa (Olivi, 1792); fairly rare, Xantho incisus Leach, 1814; very rare, Xantho pilipes A. Milne-Edwards, 1867 and Monodaeus couchii (Couch, 1851); and extremely rare, Paragalene longicrura (Nardo, 1868) and Monodaeus guinotae Forest, 1976. Until now, the area of distribution and the localities of collection of P. longicrura in the Adriatic were not known with certainty (Števciˇ c,´ 1990). Paragalene longicrura is known from the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediter- ranean region (d’Udekem d’Acoz, 1999), where it is considered rare over its whole distribution area. According to Nardo (1868), Türkay (1976a), and Števciˇ c´ (1990), only one specimen of P. longicrura was collected from the Adriatic Sea until now (middle , Šibenik area, without any other data), representing the holotype, after which the species was described as Eriphia longicrura by Nardo (1868). The genus Paragalene was subsequently established by Kossmann (1878). Two specimens (one female and one male) of P. longicrura were found in trammel bottom set catches in the eastern middle Adriatic, at two stations in the Brusnik islet area, in the vicinity of Island (fig. 1), on 3 July 2003: ◦  ◦  ◦  ◦  S1,4302.2 N1548.1 E, and S2,4301.8 N1548.4 E, on a hard rocky bottom covered with algae, Phaeophyta and Rhodophyta, at depths between 20 and 47 m. The specimens were identified according to Z. Števciˇ c´ (pers. comm.), Pesta (1918), and Holthuis (1987). The specimens collected were preserved and deposited in the Ichthyological Collection of the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries in Split.

1) e-mail: [email protected] © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2005 Crustaceana 78 (6): 749-753 Also available online: www.brill.nl 750 NOTES AND NEWS

Fig. 1. Paragalene longicrura (Nardo, 1868). Geographic locations of records in the Adriatic Sea (islet Brusnik, Vis Island area, open middle Adriatic) (S1,S2).

DESCRIPTION OF THESE ADRIATIC SPECIMENS Paragalene longicrura (Nardo, 1868) (fig. 2) Specific characteristics. — Carapace slighthly convex, moderately smooth and trapezoid, much wider than long, with a wide, non-protuberant front, and dentate anterolateral borders; four small denticles present on the frontal area, and five triangular ones on the anterolateral border; abdomen of female with 7 somites, in male with somites 3 and 4 are fused while the articulation line is still visible; chelae strong, with arched and sharpened tips, equally developed in both sexes, outer areas of palm and carpus slighthly granulated, inner edge of carpus with one large, pointed spine in the middle and a smaller one, below; last four pairs (2-5) of pereiopods similar, elongate, thin, and smooth; upper edges of meri finely granulated, outer edges with sparse, soft bristles, similar in all walking legs;