Anoplodactylus californicus Hall, 1912

Lucena, Rudá Amorim & Christoffersen, Martin Lindsey, 2018, Anoplodactylus (Pycnogonida: Phoxichilidiidae) from Brazil, new records and two new species, Turkish Journal of Zoology 42 (4), pp. 372-388 : 376

Anoplodactylus californicus Hall, 1912

For older synonyms and references, see Müller (1993: 222).

Anoplodactylus californicus : Arango and Maxmen, 2006: 60, 62 [key], figure 3f; Melzer et al. 2006: 238–240, figures 2b, 2f, 2g; Müller and Krapp, 2009: 90-93, figure 48; Weis and Melzer, 2012: 200-201, figures 2b, 10f, 10g, 11a– 11g.

Material examined: Bahia: ( UFPB.PYC–182) 1 ♀ and 4 juveniles, Praia das Conchas, 16 May 2015, coll. R.A. Lucena, L.M. Falkenberg and J. Prata. Paraíba: ( UFPB. PYC–099) 2 ♂♂ and 7 juveniles, Cabo Branco , intertidal in Sargassum vulgare , 01 Feb. 2014, coll. E. Canuto and K.S. Pacheco ; ( UFPB.PYC–100) 1 ♂♂ and 1 juvenile, Cabo Branco , intertidal in Gracilaria ferox , 31 Jan. 2014, coll. E. Canuto and K.S. Pacheco ; ( UFPB.PYC–149) 1 ♂, 1 ♀ and 1 juvenile, Cabo Branco, intertidal in Gracilaria sp. , 31 Jan. 2014, coll. E. Canuto and K.S. Pacheco ; ( UFPB.PYC–151) 3 ♀♀ and 3 juveniles, Coqueirinho , intertidal, 17 Apr. 2014, coll. R.A. Lucena; J. Prata and J.P. Araújo ; ( UFPB. PYC–168) 2 ♀♀, Seixas, Paraíba, 09 Nov. 2014, coll. T. Dias . Rio Grande do Norte: ( UFPB.PYC–219) 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀ and 5 juveniles, Tourinhos , intertidal, 6 Jul. 2014, coll. R.A. Lucena and L.M. Flakenberg. Ceará: ( UFPB.PYC–218) 24 ♂♂, 15 ♀♀ and 23 juveniles, Jericoacoara , intertidal, 11 Aug. 2014, coll. R.A. Lucena and J. Prata ; ( UFPB.PYC–220) 1 ♂, 4 ♀♀ and 3 juveniles, Flecheiras , intertidal, 13 Aug. 2014, coll. R.A. Lucena and J. Prata ; ( UFPB.PYC–244) 1 ♂, Jericoacoara , intertidal in hydrozoans, 11 Aug. 2014, coll. R.A. Lucena and J. Prata. Piauí: ( UFPB.PYC–221) 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀ and 11 juveniles, Praia do Coqueiro , intertidal, 19 Mar 2015, coll. R.A. Lucena, J. Prata and J.P. de Araújo.

Diagnosis: Body elongate, trunk segments 3 and 4 fused. Two small setae inserted laterally near the bases of the cheliphores. Chela with a row of small setae in the direction of palm-finger, and 3 or 4 setae on ventral side of palm. Movable finger with 5 median dorsal setae. Legs very long. Femur with a small dorso-distal tubercle. Spur on legs 3 and 4 long in both sexes. Tube of the cement gland short and oval. Propodus with 2 spines on heel. Female with a pair of wing-like tubercles on proboscis. Palp vestigial.

Distribution: Pantropical, pantemperate. Strait of Magellan, Brazil (Santa Catarina, São Paulo, Bahia, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará, Piauí), Colombia, Curaçao, Bonaire, USA (Florida, Hawaii), Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Italy, Chile ( Marcus, 1940; Sawaya, 1949; Stock, 1974; Child, 2004; Müller and Krapp, 2009).

Depth: Up to less than 100 m deep.

Remarks: Anoplodactylus californicus may be identified by the robust appearance, the strigilum on the oviger, with many setae, cement gland with a short tube pointing distally, long spur on coxa of leg 4 of male, the peculiar alate process on the proximo-ventral region of the proboscis of the female ( Child, 1992; Bamber and Takahashi, 2005) and the large, abnormal sprout representing the palp ( Child, 1995).

This species was referred to erroneously under several names because the type-species was poorly described and insufficiently illustrated by Hall (1912). The material corresponding to this species was considered lost until it was rediscovered and reexamined by Child (1987). Apparently, this is one of the few species of Pycnogonida that have a high thermal tolerance. They occur in Subantarctic habitats, temperate localities in the South America, tropical latitudes in the eastern Pacific, and temperate latitudes of the northern hemisphere ( Child, 1995).

We detected a certain plasticity in certain characters that differ from the original description and from those presented by Müller and Krapp (2009). Some specimens had the ocular tubercle conical, while others had a rounded ocular tubercle. Complete segmentation was observed in some specimens, and a small rounded tubercle occurred above the insertion of the proboscis in some specimens. Some individuals had the abdomen slightly curved backwards, and some presented a small elevation, less than a tubercle, on the lateral processes ornamented by setae. Some individuals had a tubercle only on the lateral process 4, a femur with one elongate dorso-terminal tubercle and one apical seta. Furthermore, there were differences among the cement glands in specimens from different localities along Brazil, some being longer, others being more robust. Here, we recorded this species for the first time for Bahia, Paraíba, Ceará, and Piauí States.