Gebiacantha, Ngoc-Ho, 1989

Ngoc-Ho, Nguyen, 2003, European and Mediterranean Thalassinidea (Crustacea, Decapoda), Zoosystema 25 (3), pp. 439-555 : 505-508

Genus Gebiacantha Ngoc-Ho, 1989

TYPE SPECIES. — Upogebia talismani Bouvier, 1915 , by original designation.

DIAGNOSIS. — Gastric region with lateral ridges, linea thalassinica depressed anteriorly, extending to posteri- or border of carapace. Rostrum approximately ovoid, bordered with teeth or spines, one or many infrarostral spines; antero-lateral border of carapace with two or more spinules. Posterior border of telson medially concave. Md without acute anterior tooth. Mxp1 without epipod; Mxp3 with small epipod or (rarely) without. P1 subchelate, carpus and propodus with numerous spines, lower border of propodus with one or two large spines posterior to fixed finger; fixed finger short, not exceeding half length of dactylus. Coxae of P1-3 or P1-4 with spines or spinules. Uropod exopod equal or longer than telson.

REMARKS

The genus Gebiacantha was etablished in 1989 to include 11 upogebiid species bearing infrarostral spines as well as numerous spines on pereopods. Its validity and comparison with the closely relat- ed genus, Austinogebia Ngoc-Ho, 2001, are discussed by Ngoc-Ho (2001b).

Gebiacantha talismani ( Bouvier, 1915) ( Figs 24 ; 25 )

Upogebia Talismani Bouvier, 1915: 184 . — de Man 1927: 56; 1928 b: 24, 47.

Gebicula Hupferi Balss, 1916: 35 , figs 11-13.

Upogebia talismani – ° Buchanan 1958: 24, 28. — de Saint Laurent 1971: 1259, figs 1-3. — Le Loeuff & Intès 1974: 52, fig. 15d-n. — Beaubrun 1979: 79, figs 50-52. — Števčić 1979: 128. — de Saint Laurent & Le Loeuff 1979: 45, fig. 7. — Thessalou-Legaki 1986: 183. — ° Koukouras et al. 1992: 223; 1993: 195. — Falciai & Minervini 1996: 149, 3 figs.

Gebiacantha talismani – Ngoc-Ho 1989: 118, 121. — Noël 1992: 82. — ° Froglia 1995: 8. — d’Udekem d’Acoz 1995: 61; 1999: 156. — García Raso 1996: 738. — °Pancucci-Papadopoulou et al. 1999: 393. — *González-Gordillo et al. 2001: 279. — Markham 2001: tabls 1, 2. — ° Türkay 2001: 289.

TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype: Cap Blanc du Nord, Morocco, Talisman , stn 23, 15. VI.1883, 33°16’N, 08°53’W, 120 m, rocks, shells, 1 ( MNHN Th 50). MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Greece. SE Peloponnese, Monemvasia, brought ashore by fishermen, C. d’Udekem d’Acoz coll., 20.VII.1986, 1 cl. 11 mm ( MNHN Th 1341). — Aegean Sea, Calypso , stn 1606, Sergisti Islet, North of Limnos I., 100 m, 3. VI.1960, 1, 1 (A.U.TH G1 2123).

Morocco. Cap Blanc du Nord , Talisman , stn 23, 15.VI.1883, 33°16’N, 08°53’W, 120 m, rocks, shells, 1 holotype, poor condition cl. 7.5 mm ( MNHN Th 50). — Near Cap Blanc du Nord, 33°14’N, 8°49’W, 105 m, sand, Van Veen coll., 18.III.1976, RMNH don., 1 cl. 10 mm, tl. 28 mm (figured), 1 cl. 9.5 mm, tl. 27 mm (figured), 1 cl. 9 mm, 1 cl. 9 mm ( MNHN Th 1352) ; same data, 5

cl. 6-10.5 mm, 16 cl. 9-10 mm ( RMNH D 31566). — Sollaud coll., 1923-1926, 1 cl. 9.5 mm, 1 cl. 8 mm, 20 juv. cl. 4.5-5.5 mm (MNHN Th 1363).

Lybia. Thalassa , stn V 438, dredge, 120 m, 22.XI.1969, 1 cl. 8 mm, tl. 22 mm (figured by de Saint Laurent 1971), 1 cl. 10 mm, 1 cl. 7.5 mm (MNHN Th 51).

Sierra Leone. West Africa, 7°34’N, 13°31’W, 100 m, shells and mud, A. R. Longhurst, stn MB 4/B4, 18.IV.1956, 1, 2, 3 juv. ( RMNH D 32122). — 7°32’N, 14°07’W, 42 m, sand, A. R. Longhurst, stn MB 1/A2, 22.II.1956, 3, 1 ( RMNH D 32123). — 6°49’N, 11°45’W, 72 m, shells and mud, A. R. Longhurst, stn MB 4/B3, 26.X.1956, 1, 1 ( RMNH D 32124). — 7°39’N, 13°47’W, 80 m, shells and mud, A. R. Longhurst, stn MB 4/B3, 18.IV.1956, 1 ( RMNH D 32125).

Gulf of Guinea. Calypso , stn 94, mud and shells, 31 m, 27. VI.1956, 1 cl. 6 mm ( MNHN Th 352). — Stn 90, 30 m, 26. VI.1956, 2 (1 without abdomen) cl. 5 mm ( MNHN Th 285). — Stn 16, 100-109 m, 21. V.1956, 2 cl. 5 and 7 mm, 2

cl. 6.5 and 7 mm (MNHN Th 286).

Ivory Coast. Sassandra, Reine Pokou, 30 m, Le Loeuff & Intès coll., 9.XII.1967, 1 ovig. cl. 6.5 mm ( MNHN Th 911). — Sassandra, Reine Pokou, 40 m, small dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 11. V.1966, 2 cl. 6 and 7 mm (broken), 2 cl. 6.5 mm approx. (poor condition) and 7 mm (without abdomen) ( MNHN Th 590). — E of Jacqueville, Reine Pokou, 200 m, small dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 20.I.1966, 1 cl. 5.5 mm ( MNHN Th 591). — Sassandra, Reine Pokou, 200 m, small dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 11.II.1966, 1 cl. 5 mm and 1 cl. 6 mm ( MNHN Th 592). — Grand Lahou, Reine Pokou, 70 m, small dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 9.III.1966, 1 cl 7.5 mm (without abdomen, poor condition) ( MNHN Th 593). — Cap de Palmes, Reine Pokou, 80 m, triangular dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 9.XII.1967, 1 cl. 7.5 mm and 1 juv. cl. 3 mm ( MNHN Th 594). — Jacqueville, Reine Pokou, 80 m, small dredge, P. Le Loeuff coll., 25.XI.1966, 2 (1 ovig.) cl. 6 and 7 mm ( MNHN Th 595).

Ghana. R. Bassindale , stn 151, 2 ( RMNH D 32126) ; R. Bassindale , stn 153, 1 juv. ( RMNH D 32127) ; dredge, R. Bassindale , stn 153, 31.XII.1950, 3 juv. ( RMNH D 32128) .

Congo. Off Pointe Noire, 4°56’N, 4°27’E, Ombango, 140 m, dredge, A. Crosnier coll., 22.VIII.1969, 2

cl. 4 and 4.5 mm (MNHN Th 259).

Unknown locality. Pourquoi pas, stn 82, 1 cl. 12.5 mm (MNHN Th 912).

DISTRIBUTION. — Central Mediterranean: Malta; eastern Mediterranean: Lybia and Greece. Northwest coast of Africa, from Morocco to Congo.

DIAGNOSIS

Rostrum ( Fig. 24A, B ) ovoid, slightly longer than wide at base, six to eight teeth on lateral border, faint median groove on proximal half, three to five infrarostral spines; anterolateral border of carapace with four to six spines and spinules. Telson ( Fig. 24H ) approximately 1.1-1.2 times as wide as long, posterior border concave medially.

A1 peduncle ( Fig. 24C ) with lower spine on article 1; A2 peduncle ( Fig. 24D ) with two and three to five lower spines on article 3 and 4 respectively. Md ( Fig. 24E ) without mesio-anterior tooth.

P1 slender in young male and female, with small fixed finger ( Fig. 25 A-C), stouter and with much shortened fixed finger in large male ( Fig. 24F, G ). Ischium with spine on lower border. Merus with upper subdistal spine, eight to 10 spines and three to five spinules on lower border. Carpus with several spinules on upper border; three large upper mesial distal spines and lower distal spine. Propodus with three or four longitudinal rows of spines on mesial surface; large lower spine posterior to fixed finger followed by smaller one; fixed finger short or very short, unarmed. Dactylus with tubercles on upper border and a few others on mesial surface.

P2 ( Fig. 25D ) merus with upper subdistal spine, two to four lower spinules; carpus with four or five upper spines and lower subdistal spine, propodus with upper proximal spine. P3 ( Fig. 25E ) merus with upper distal spine and four or five lower spines, carpus with lower distal spine.

Uropod exopod ( Fig. 24H ) approximately 1.2 times as long as telson.

ECOLOGY

This species occurs among rocks and shells or in muddy sand (de Saint Laurent 1971), between 20- 150 m.

REMARKS

Bouvier (1915), also de Saint Laurent (1971) and de Saint Laurent & Le Loeuff (1979) reported two type specimens for U. talismani , both female, of 20 and 30 mm in total length; only the smaller one (cl. 7.5 mm) is now present in the MNHN collection. It is in poor condition but clearly shows the species characteristics.

Young male of Gebiacantha talismani ( Fig. 25A ) (from de Saint Laurent & Le Loeuff 1979: fig. 7a) shows a slightly stouter P1 than the female but with a relatively long fixed finger. In large male from the type locality ( RMNH-D 31566 and MNHN Th 1352) and elsewhere (MNHN Th 1341 and Th 912), P1 fixed finger is much shorter ( Fig. 24F, G ).

Figures

FIG. 24. — Gebiacantha talismani (Bouvier, 1915) from Cap Blanc du Nord, Morocco (MNHN Th 1352); A, B, F-H,; C-E,; A, B, anterior part of carapace, dorsal and lateral view; C, D, antennule and antenna; E, mandible; F, G, pereopod 1 and distal articles in mesial view; H, telson and uropods. Scale bars: A, B, F-H, 1 mm; C-E, 0.5 mm.

FIG. 25. — Gebiacantha talismani (Bouvier, 1915); A, from Lybia (MNHN Th 51), pereopod 1, mesial view (from de Saint Laurent 1971); B-E, from Cap Blanc du Nord, Morocco (MNHN Th 1352); B, C, pereopod 1 and distal articles in mesial view; D, E, pereopod 2 and 3. Scale bars: 1 mm.