Stenothoe garpoorea, Krapp-Schickel, 2009

Krapp-Schickel, T., 2009, New and poorly described stenothoids (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from the Pacific Ocean., Memoirs of Museum Victoria 66 (1), pp. 95-116 : 95-98

Stenothoe garpoorea n.sp.

Figs. 1 , 2

Holotype: male 2.5mm; from „Danske Expedition til Kei Oerne” by T. Mortensen, 1922; 15m sand and Acanthogorgia ; slide ZMUC CRU-20183 .

Type locality: Kai (or Kei) Islands (= Nuhu Evav, Tanat Evav), E-Banda-Sea, SE Indonesia, province Maluku (see also Mortensen, 1923).

Additional material: female, same locality, slide ZMUC CRU-20184.

Etymology: In 1997 and 2001 Gary Poore gave me the opportunity to work at the Victoria Museum in Melbourne and „take a dip“ in the rich amphipod collection there which primarily was built up by him personally. The present species is named after a combination of his first and family name, used as an adjective.

Description. Based on male, 2.5 mm.

Head. Eyes rather big, round. Antenna 1 longer than head and peraeonites 1–4, longer than antenna 2; peduncular article 2 longer than article 1; flagellum with 14 articles; accessory flagellum absent or not found. Antenna 2 peduncle article 4 subequal or somewhat shorter than article 5, a bit thicker; flagellum with 8 articles which have each a hump distally next to the articulation and only on one side; obviously these second antennae are used to grip or hold on the host, as they are always kept symmetrically with these humps showing to the antenna of the other side.

Mouthparts. Mandible palp absent (at least not found). Maxilla 1 palp 2–articulate. Maxilliped outer plate minute.

Peraeon. Gnathopods 1–2 dissimilar in size and shape. Gnathopod 1 subchelate; merus enlarged, produced distally, longer than carpus; carpus triangular, longer than wide; propodus about 2 x as long as broad, palm defined by obtuse corner. Coxa 2 triangular, distally with acute corner. Gnathopod 2 subchelate, carpus shorter than wide, cup-shaped; propodus distally widened, similar to a fist, palm unevenly serrated; dactylus reaching about half length of propodus. Coxa 3 distally with stridulation ridge. Peraeopod 5 basis not expanded, but linear, merus widened and distally also slightly lengthened, reaching about 1/3 along carpus. Peraeopod 6, 7 basis fully expanded; merus distal expansion reaching about 1/3 length of carpus; dactylus large, subequal or larger than half propodus).

Pleon. Epimeron 3 posteroventral corner subquadrate/ rounded. Urosomites free. Uropod 1 peduncle without distoventral spine, subequal rami shorter than peduncle. Uropods 2 inner rami clearly shorter than outer ones. Uropod 3 with peduncle and single ramus, which is longer than peduncle, 2 articulate, article 2 subequal in length to article 1; peduncle and ramus article 1 each with 2 robust setae. Telson laminar, with 2 dorsolateral robust setae, apically subacute.

Female (sexually dimorphic characters). A1 relatively shorter. Gnathopod 2 palm less serrated than in male, Cx2 narrower.

Habitat. Marine; among the gorgonacean Acanthogorgia . On sand, 15 m.

Distribution: Indonesia, Pacific Ocean.

Remarks. This species shares the very unusual and characteristic humps or „warts“ on the second antennae with Stenothoe verrucosa n.sp., which was found in the same habitat; but in the latter these humps are on the last peduncular and first flagellum article, while in the present species they are exclusively on the flagellum. No other members of this genus are reported with such a structure.

Figures

Figure 1: Stenothoe garpoorea n.sp.: holotype male 2.5 mm and paratype female 2.2mm, SE Indonesia.

Figure 2: Stenothoe garpoorea n.sp.: holotype male 2.5 mm, SE Indonesia.