Julmarichardia Guţu, 1989

Moralés-Núñez, Andres G. & Heard, Richard W., 2021, Julmarichardiidae, a new apseudoidean family (Crustacea: Tanaidacea: Apseudomorpha) with the description of a new species of Julmarichardia Guţu 1995 from the Northwest Australian Shelf, Zootaxa 5081 (1), pp. 77-115 : 80-81

Genus Julmarichardia Guţu, 1989

Type species. Julmarichardia alinati Guţu, 1989

Species. Julmarichardia alinati ; J. bajau , J. deltoides ; J. gutui ; J. thomassini ; J. magdae sp. nov.; J. sp. A.

Diagnosis. As for family.

Remarks. At our request, Modest Guţu reexamined the type material of Julmarichardia alinati , a male allotype and female paratype, and for J. thomassini , an incomplete male allotype, deposited in the Collections of the “Grigore Antipa” National Museum of Natural History, Bucharest. He was able to confirm the presence of mucus packets on the males of both species; however, mucus packets were not observed on the appendages of the female of J. alinati , due to the strongly chitinized surface of the appendages and by being covered with numerous acicular crystals. Mucus packets were observed in the male of the J. alinati on both chelipedal fixed finger, and carpus and propodus of the pereopods 1–2 and 6, and in the incomplete male of J. thomassini on the fixed finger of the chela, and carpus and propodus of the pereopods 1–2. Furthermore, based on reexamination of topotypical material of J. gutui , the presence of mucus packets was also observed on several appendages (M. Guţu, per. com. 2018). Mucus appears to be processed and extruded by a specialized structure located in the propodus of pereopod-1 and appears to be released through an opening located on the inner face of the propodus (see Fig. 8C ). The presence of mucus glands in Julmarichardia deltoides and J. bajau has not been confirmed but given their other generic features their presence is strongly suspected. Pending their reexamination, we have included presence of mucus glands as part of the modified generic and new family diagnoses.

With these new observations, the presence of mucus glands and packets is now documented for five of the six recognized species of Julmarichardia . One species J. deltoides needs to be reexamined for their presence ( Table 1 ).

The taxonomic status of Calozodion dollfusi Guţu, 1989 is uncertain. He described this species based on a single manca stage collected from the cold-temperate northeastern Atlantic waters off Jersey, one of the Channel Islands. Later he ( Guţu 2014) transferred this species to the genus Julmarichardia . However, based on the original description of C. dollfusi , we do not believe that it can be referred to Julmarichardia with any degree of confidence. Characters of C. dollfusi that include (1) an antenna with basal article entire (not dentate), (2) rostrum forming a broad rounded dentate frontal margin (remnants of some species of Calozodion , but not Julmarichardia ), and (3) pereopod-1 with coxal process not greatly pronounced anteriorly and the anterior margin of the basis lacking spiniform processes, diminish the possibility that this species is referrable to Julmarichardia . Other characters exhibited by C. dollfusi do not appear to be exclusively related to those attributed to the other nominal species of Julmarichardia , all of which are currently known only from the southern Indo-Pacific and immediately adjacent waters. Further, zoogeographically, the occurrence of “ Julmarichardia dollfusi ” in the cold-temperate waters of the NE Atlantic (49.2° N, 2.1° W) is far removed from the other nominal warm-water Indo-Pacific species of the genus. Pending the discovery of adult topotypical material, Calozodion dollfusi is here considered “ Metapseudidae genus inquirenda.”

When comparing species of Julmarichardia described from the Indo-Pacific, Julmarichardia bajau , which is known from the eastern margin of the Indian Ocean ( Malaysia), differs markedly from its East African and Australian congeners. These differences involve distinct meristic differences in the antenna, maxilliped, and pereopods of J. bajau . Based on these morphological differences and circumstantially supported by its physical and apparent temporal distance from other known members of the genus, we here place J. bajau in a new genus.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Julmarichardia magdae sp. nov. paratype non-ovigerous female. A, pereopod-1, outer view; B, enlargement of inner bipinnate spiniform seta; C, enlargement of dactylus and unguis; D, pereopod-1, inner view; E, enlargement of plumose seta; F, enlargement of setulate spiniform seta. Scale bar = 0.1 mm for A, C, and D.