Petrolisthes aff. caribensis Werding, 1983

Ferreira, Luciane Augusto De Azevedo & Anker, Arthur, 2021, An annotated and illustrated checklist of the porcelain crabs of Panama (Decapoda: Anomura), Zootaxa 5045 (1), pp. 1-154 : 71-75

Petrolisthes aff. caribensis Werding, 1983

( Figs. 38 , 39 )

Petrolisthes caribensis “Blue ”.— Hiller et al. 2006: 552, 556 [not Petrolisthes caribensis Werding, 1983 ].

Petrolisthes caribensis Blue-Car. — Hiller et al. 2006: 557, fig. 3 (phylogenetic tree) [not Petrolisthes caribensis Werding, 1983 ].

Petrolisthes caribensis .— Rodríguez et al. 2005: 561 (part., material from Bocas del Toro, Panama) [not Petrolisthes caribensis Werding, 1983 ].

Cf. Petrolisthes caribensis Werding 1983: 411 , figs. 1–4; Hiller et al. 2006: 552, 556; Rodríguez et al. 2006: 154; Poupin & Lemaitre 2014: 16, fig. 3D; Poupin 2018: 149.

Not Petrolisthes caribensis — Rodríguez et al. 2005: 561, pl. 1, fig. G [= Petrolisthes galathinus ( Bosc, 1802) , see below].

Material examined. Panama [ Caribbean ]: 1 female, cl 12.9, cw 12.1 ( MZUSP 33450 ), Bocas del Toro, exact locality not specified, depth 1–2 m, under rocks, leg. A. Anker et al. 11– 15.08.2008 ; 1 male, cl 6.4, cw 6.2 ( FLMNH UF 57139 ), Bocas del Toro, between Isla Bastimentos and Isla Solarte , 9°20’18.7”N, 82°13’02.8”W, depth less than 2 m, in dead corals, leg. P.P.G. Pachelle, 29.03.2019 (fcn PP 19-118) ; 3 males, cl 9.8–10.3, cw 9.1–10.0 ( MZUSP 40068 ), Bocas del Toro, Ponsak , depth 1 m, shallow flat with rubble, zoanthids, sponges, in crevices of Agaricia rubble, leg. A. Anker et al., 22.07.2018 ; 1 male, cl 7.8, cw 7.2, 1 ov. female, cl 5.9, cw 5.5 ( MZUSP 33523 ), Bocas del Toro , southern end of Isla Bastimentos, Cayo Coral (= Crawl Cay ), depth 0.5–2 m, under and in crevices of coral rubble, leg. A. Anker, J. Luque, A.R. Palmer & T. Kaji, 28.04.2015 .

Comparative material. Petrolisthes caribensis Werding, 1983 . French Antilles: 1 ov. female, cl cw indet. ( FLMNH UF 32194), Saint Martin, Sta. STM-038, Ilôt de l’Embouchure, 18°04’01.2”N, 63°00’43.2”W, reef, depth 0–1 m, leg. A. Anker et al., 17.04.2012 (fcn BSTM-0964); 1 female, cl cw indet. ( FLMNH UF 32386 ), Saint Martin, Sta. STM-038, Ilôt de l’Embouchure , 18°04’01.2”N, 63°00’43.2”W, reef, in sand under coral rubble, depth 1 m, leg. A. Anker et al., 22.04.2012 (fcn BSTM-1405) ; 1 female, cl cw indet. ( FLMNH UF 31968 ), Saint Martin, Sta. STM- 022, Chico 2, windward side of Tintamarre Island, 18°06’28.8”N, 62°58’58.8”W, depth 12–18 m, coral rubble, leg. G. Paulay, 12.04.2012 (fcn BSTM-0486) .

Previous records from Panama. Rodríguez et al. (2005, as P. caribensis ).

Distribution. West Atlantic: Colombia and Panama (Bocas del Toro) ( Rodríguez et al. 2005, as P. caribensis ; Hiller et al. 2006, as P. caribensis “Blue ”).

Remarks. Petrolisthes caribensis belongs to the P. galathinus ( Bosc, 1802) species complex, which currently includes six described and probably several undescribed species ( Werding 1983; Werding & Hiller 2002; Hiller et al. 2006; see also under P. galathinus below). Petrolisthes caribensis s. str. (sensu Werding 1983) can be distinguished from the other species included in this complex by the “uniformly carmine red carapace with a characteristic white cross in the frontal region” ( Hiller et al. 2006), as exemplified by the ovigerous female from Saint Martin, French Antilles ( Fig. 40 ), as well as specimens from Utila, Honduras (A. Anker, pers. obs.). In the genetically different colour morph of P. caribensis , provisionally named P. caribensis “Blue ” or P. caribensis Blue-Car for its “general pale blue appearance, the white cross on the front is absent, and the carapace displays red transverse ridges” ( Hiller et al. 2006). Since none of the colour morphs of P. galathinus and allied taxa was illustrated by Hiller et al. (2006) [note: website with supplemental material not available anymore], we assume that P. caribensis “Blue ”, as described by these authors, is in best agreement with our material from Bocas del Toro, referred herein to as P. aff. caribensis ( Fig. 38 , 39 ). Beyond any doubt, P. aff. caribensis represents a distinct, most likely undescribed species, which is very different from P. caribensis based both on colour patterns and molecular data ( Hiller et al. 2006).

Rodríguez et al. (2005) listed under P. caribensis five specimen lots from Bocas del Toro, which possibly represent P. aff. caribensis . In the molecular study by Rodríguez et al. (2006), P. caribensis was represented by specimens from Mexico (Quintana Roo) and Belize, which possibly correspond to P. caribensis sensu Werding (1983) . Hiller et al. (2006) noted that the two species are not completely separated geographically, with both P. caribensis and P. caribensis “Blue ” (= P. aff. caribensis ) co-occurring in some Colombian localities. Despite this partial range overlap, P. caribensis seems to be widespread in the eastern and northern Caribbean Sea and southern Florida, whereas P. aff. caribensis may be restricted to south-western Caribbean Sea ( Panama and Colombia). The presence of P. caribensis in Honduras indicates that the species also occurs in the western part of the Caribbean Sea and thus may also occur in Panama ( Table 1). This hypothesis, however, will need to be confirmed by additional sampling and/or examination of the museum material.

Both species, i.e. P. caribensis and P. aff. caribensis , can be distinguished morphologically from P. galathinus by the number of movable spines on the posterior margin of the P2–P4 dactyli: four in P. caribensis vs. three in P. galathinus ( Hiller et al. 2006; but see below). The specimen illustrated by Rodríguez et al. (2005: pl. 1, fig. G) seems to be a juvenile of P. galathinus (Darryl L. Felder, pers. comm.).

Figures

FIGURE 38. Petrolisthes aff. caribensis Werding, 1983: male (cl 10.3 mm, cw 10.0 mm) from Bocas del Toro, Panama (MZUSP 40068), dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 39. Petrolisthes aff. caribensis Werding, 1983: male (cl 9.8 mm, cw 9.1 mm) from Bocas del Toro, Panama (MZUSP 40068), dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views [photographs by AA].

FIGURE 40. Petrolisthes caribensis Werding, 1983: extra-limital specimen, ovigerous female (cl cw indet.) from Saint Martin (FLMNH UF 32194), dorsal (A) and ventral (B) views [photographs by AA].