Agaricochirus gibbosimanus ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880 )

Nucci, Paulo Ricardo & Melo, Gustavo Augusto Schmidt De, 2011, Hermit crabs from Brazil: Family Paguridae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Paguroidea), except Pagurus, Zootaxa 3104, pp. 26-41 : 27-28

Agaricochirus gibbosimanus ( A. Milne-Edwards, 1880)

( Figs 1 A, 2A, 3A)

Eupagurus gibbosimanus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880: 42 . — Alcock, 1905: 189.

Pylopagurus gibbosimanus . — A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1893: 99, pl. 7, figs 18–20. — Gordan, 1956: 340.

? Pylopagurus gibbosimanus . — Young, 1900: 370.

Agaricochirus gibbosimanus . — McLaughlin, 1981a: 6; 1982: 836, figs 1e, 2e, 3e. — Nucci & Melo, 2007c: 23, fig. 1A–F. — McLaughlin et al., 2010: 27.

Material examined. Canopus Bank; 240–260 m; 2 specimens (MZUSP-17021). One specimen is certainly male. The other lacks a large part of the posterior portion of the body, from the first pair of ambulatory legs, but is probably another male because the armature and ornamentation of chelipeds are characteristic of males.

Diagnosis. Shield broader than long. Rostrum triangular, tip slightly rounded, with very small terminal spine. Lateral projections triangular, with marginal or submarginal spine. Ocular peduncle short, corneae slightly dilated; ocular acicles triangular, with strong submarginal spine. Right cheliped with row of small spines on ventromesial margin of merus. Row of strong spines on dorsomesial margin of carpus; tufts of setae on dorsal surface. Broad tuberculate ridges dorsolaterally and medially on palm; dorsal surface of palm and fixed finger with tubercles closely spaced and mushroom-shaped, flattened or conical; row of widely spaced spines on dorsomesial margin, dorsolateral margin indistinctly delimited; dactyl with dorsomesial row of small spines. Merus of left cheliped with ventromesial row of small spines on ventral margin. Dorsal surface of carpus with oblique row of spines distally. Palm elevated in midline, with closely spaced tubercles and 1 or 2 spines proximally; row of spines on dorsolateral margin, few small corneous-tipped spines near dorsomesial margin; dorsomesial row of corneous-tipped spines on dactyl, dorsal midline with single or double row of small corneous-tipped spines. Second and third pereopods with dactyls and propodi short and moderately broad; row of corneous spines on dorsal and ventral margins of dactyls and on ventral margins of propodi. Tufts of long setae on dorsal surfaces of dactyls, propodi and carpi. Sternite of third pereopods with anterior lobe subquadrate. Fifth and often third and fourth tergites with patches of short stiff setae. Uropods and telson with short stiff setae; telson with terminal margins unarmed (after McLaughlin 1982).

Distribution. Western Atlantic: off the Dominican Republic, Yucatan Channel, northern Caribbean, southern islands of Lesser Antilles (Windward Islands) and Brazil (off Fortaleza in the state of Ceará).

Habitat. Unknown. The specimens from Brazil were collected between 240 and 260 m.

Remarks. According to McLaughlin (1982), Agaricochirus gibbosimanus is closely allied with A. hispidus ( Benedict, 1892) and A. echinatus McLaughlin, 1982 , even considering the wide variation in the structure and ornamentation of the chelae of each species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Shield and cephalic region: A, Agaricochirus gibbosimanus; B, Anisopagurus bartletti; C, Catapagurus sharreri; D, Goreopagurus lemaitrei; E, Iridopagurus iris; F, I. reticulatus; G, I. violaceus; H, Nematopaguroides fagei; I, N. pusillus; J, Phimochirus holthuisi; K, P. occlusus; L, Propagurus gaudichaudii; M, Pylopagurus discoidalis; N, Rhodochirus rosaceus; and O, Tomopagurus wassi. (In B and I the scale corresponds to the length of the shield).