Hemiaegina minuta Mayer, 1890

Guerra-García, José M. & Lowry, J. K., 2009, Caprellidae *, Zootaxa 2260 (1), pp. 290-327 : 295-297

Hemiaegina minuta Mayer, 1890

( Fig. 3 )

Hemiaegina minuta Mayer, 1890: 40 , pl. 1: fig. 25, pl. 3: figs 32–35, pl. 5: fig. 52, pl. 6: figs 13, 33–34, pl. 7: fig. 4. — McCain, 1968: 61, figs 29–30. — McCain & Steinberg, 1970: 51. — Gable & Lazo-Wasem, 1987: 637. — Müller, 1990: 836. — Serejo, 1997: 630, fig. 1. — Guerra-García, 2003a: 105 , fig. 10. — Guerra-García 2003b: 6 , fig. 3; Guerra-García, 2004a: 39, fig. 32. — Díaz et al., 2005: 5, 6, 18, fig. 9. — Krapp-Schickel & Guerra-García, 2005: 50, fig. 3. —Guerra-García, 2006: 443, fig. 43. — Guerra-García, Krapp-Schickel & Müller, 2006: 171 , figs 14–16.

Hemiaegina quadripunctata Sundara Raj, 1927: 126 , pl. 18.

Hemiaegina costai Quitete, 1972: 165 , pls. 1–2.

Material examined. 5 males, 2 females, AM P61648 ( QLD 979 ). See station list for occurrences ( Lowry & Myers 2009) and Guerra-García (2006) for complete material examined .

Type locality. Off Amoy , China, 15–46 m depth .

Description. Based on male, AM P61648.

Head and pereonites slender. Head/pereonite 1 fused (suture absent); dorsal margin straight; eye small, not distinctive. Antenna 1 well developed; slender, 0.8 x body length; peduncle article 2 longest, article 3 straight; accessory flagellum absent; flagellum longer than peduncle, with more than 2 articles, proximal article composed of 2 articles. Antenna 2 0.4 x antenna 1 length, slender; peduncle with several feeble setae; flagellum about 1/5 (0.2 x) of peduncular length, with 2 articles. Mandible right incisor with 5 teeth, right lacinia mobilis transformed into a serrated plate, accessory setal row absent; molar well developed; left incisor with 5 teeth, lacinia mobilis with 5 teeth, without trapezoid plate; palp absent. Maxilla 1 outer plate with 6 stout apical setal-teeth. Maxilliped inner plate smaller than outer plate, quadrilateral; outer plate 2 x length of inner plate; palp article 2 setose on inner margin; palp article 4 not enlarged.

Pereon. Pereonites 2 to 7 not fused. Pereonite 1 without projections. Gnathopod 1 distinctly smaller than gnathopod 2; propodus subtriangular, palm begins 1/5 along posterior margin, smooth, with large, rounded knob proximally; dactylus curved, inner margin smooth. Pereonite 2 without anterolateral projection, with ventral projection between insertion of gnathopods. Gnathopod 2 situated toward anterior end of pereonite 2 or near middle of pereonite 2; basis about 1.5 x length of pereonite 2, without anterodistal projection; ischium without anterodistal projection; propodus elliptical, massive, anterodistal margin widely concave, without anterodistal triangular projection or projections along mid-anterior margin; palm without proximal cavity filled with membranous sack, palm proximal projection with 1 robust (grasping) seta, palm margin irregular, smooth, without hook-like projection at base of dactylus, with broad well developed distal shelf, with two triangular projections distally, with deep, wide sinus, with large midpalmar projection. Pereonite 3 without projections. Pereopod 3 reduced or vestigial, with 1 article. Pereonite 4 without projections. Pereopod 4 reduced, with 1 article. Pereopod 5 well developed, with 6 articles, slender. Pereopods 6 and 7 prehensile. Pereopod 6 basis longest followed by merus. Pereopod 7 similar to pereopod 6; merus shorter than basis.

Gills on pereonites 3 and 4. Pereonite 3 gill length about as long as corresponding pereonite, straight, ovate or elongate, cylindrical. Pereonite 4 gill as long as corresponding pereonite, straight, ovate or elongate, cylindrical.

Pleon. Uropod 1 present; peduncle free, elongate, length about 1.7 x width; ramus length about 3–4 x width, ramus 1.75 x peduncular length.

Female not described (similar to male).

Habitat. This species has been found on many different substrates on the Great Barrier Reef: green, brown and red algae, sponges, tunicates, seagrass, dead corals encrusted with algal turf, and under small boulders, but at Lizard Island the species has been only found on hydroids (Guerra-García 2006). Hemiaegina minuta has been previously collected from Sargassum sp. and taken in plankton tows ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). Müller (1990) reported that H. minuta prefers more or less exposed reef locations. Guerra-García (2003a; 2003b) found the species associated with algae in Papua New Guinea and Mauritius. This species has also been found on Arca zebra ( Díaz et al. 2005) .

Remarks. Hemiaegina minuta is widely distributed in tropical and temperate waters worldwide ( Müller 1990). The Queensland specimens agree with the description of McCain (1968) based on material from the West coast of North America.

Distribution. Australia. Queensland: Freshwater Bay; Stradbroke Island; GBR: North Point, Lizard Island. Dome Island, Hervey Islands; East Fitzroy Reef, Great Barrier Reef. New South Wales: Elizabeth and Middleton Reef; Lord Howe Island (Guerra-García 2006). Western Australia: Fremantle ( Guerra-García 2004a). Bermuda ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). China. Off Amoy, China, 15–46 m deep ( Mayer 1890). Colombia. Bahía de Santa Marta, Punta Betín, Bahía Concha, Bahía Nenguangue ( Guerra-García et al. 2006). India. Krusadai Island, South Arabian coast ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). Indonesia. Bali ( Krapp-Schickel & Guerra-García 2005). Japan. Sunohama and Tateyama ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). Mauritius. Baie du Tumbeau ( Guerra-García 2003b). Papua New Guinea. Bootless Bay ( Guerra-García 2003a). Society Islands. Bora Bora ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). South Africa. False Bay ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). USA. Virginia; Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; Elliot Key, Florida; Loggerhead Key, Tortugas; 29º44’N 88º23.5’W; Port Aransas, Texas; St. John, Virgin Islands; Oahu, Hawaii ( McCain & Steinberg 1970). Venezuela. Guayacán, Sucre ( Díaz et al. 2005).

Figures

FIGURE 3. Hemiaegina minuta Mayer, 1890. Lateral view. A, male, ~3 mm; B, female ~3.5 mm, AM P61648, Freshwater Bay, Queensland. Refigured from Guerra-García (2006).