Stenothoe minuta Holmes, 1903

Dugger, Abigail R. & White, Kristine N., 2025, Caribbean Amphipoda (Crustacea) of Panama. Part V: parvorder Amphilochidira, ZooKeys 1259, pp. 57-102 : 57-102

Stenothoe minuta Holmes, 1903

Figs 8 , 22 F

Stenothoe minuta Holmes, 1903: 278; Holmes 1905: 485–486; LeCroy 2011: 724, fig. 572.

Material examined.

Panama • 1–2 mm • 1 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Hospital Point ; 9.3336°N, 82.2188°W; depth 15 m; among coral rubble and red algae; 6 Aug 2005; S. DeGrave and M. Salazar leg.; GCRL 6675 • 1 ♀, 1 juvenile; Bocas del Toro, Pandora ; 9.3278°N, 82.2222°W; depth 10 m; among coral rubble; 10 Aug 2021; K. N. White leg.; USNM 1762920 .

Diagnosis.

Head anterior margin rounded, eye relatively large. Gnathopod 2 of female propodus subrectangular, palmar angle defined by spine, palm crenulate. Gnathopod 2 of male propodus palm and posterior margin distinguishable, lacking distal palmar tooth (not illustrated). Pereopod 7 merus posterodistal lobe not reaching more than halfway to distal margin of carpus. Uropod 1 peduncle lacking distoventral spur; inner ramus bare. Uropod 3 second article of ramus 1.6 × length of first article of ramus.

Distribution.

USA: Texas ( McKinney 1977); Cape Cod, Massachusetts to northeast Florida ( Holmes 1903; Watling and Maurer 1972; Bousfield 1973; Caine 1986), Pine Island Sound, Florida ( LeCroy 2011), Apalachee Bay, Florida ( Lewis 1984, 1987); Panama: Bocas del Toro (present study).

Ecology and remarks.

This species occurs among coral rubble in Panama at depths to 15 m. Previous reports list this species among hydroids, algae, and other fouling organisms ( LeCroy 2011). Panamanian specimens agree closely with previous descriptions of this species and can be distinguished by the elongate second article of the uropod 3 ramus. Living specimens are translucent with white spots covering body and red eyes.

Figures

Figure 8. Stenothoe minuta, female, 1.5 mm, pereopod 7, gnathopod 2 lateral, coxae 1–4, urosome, uropods 1–3. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 22. Photographs of living specimens unless noted. A. Apolochus dragensis sp. nov.; B. Apolochus pillaii; C. Apolochus cf. picadurus (ethanol-preserved specimen); D. Seba cf. tropica (ethanol-preserved specimen); E. Stenothoe gallensis; F. Stenothoe minuta; G. Stenothoe valida (ethanol-preserved specimen). Scale bars: 1.0 mm.