Oxypleurodon auritum ( Rathbun, 1916 )

Lee, Bee Yan, Forges, Bertrand Richer De & Ng, Peter K. L., 2017, Deep-sea spider crabs of the families Epialtidae MacLeay, 1838 and Inachidae MacLeay, 1838, from the South China Sea, with descriptions of two new species (Decapoda, Brachyura, Majoidea), European Journal of Taxonomy 358, pp. 1-37 : 8

Oxypleurodon auritum ( Rathbun, 1916)

Fig. 13C

Sphenocarcinus auritus Rathbun, 1916: 527 (list), 540–541 (type locality: east coast of Luzon, Atalaya Point, Batag Island, the Philippines).

Sphenocarcinus auritus – Griffin 1976: 211, fig. 10b. — Takeda 1982: 123, un-numbered text-fig. — Guinot & Richer de Forges 1986: 135 (key).

Oxypleurodon auritum – Ng et al. 2008: 104 (list). — Richer de Forges & Ng 2009b: 248 (table), 251 (list), 253, figs 2C, 3B, 5A, 10E, F. — Lee et al. 2015: 1257, 1258, fig. 1B.

(For the complete synonymy, see Richer de Forges & Ng 2009b: 253.)

Material examined

SOUTH CHINA SEA: 1 ♂ (16.7 × 11.1 mm) [photographed] ( ZRC 2016.0066), 2 ♂♂ (14.5 × 9.4 mm, 13.8 × 8.9 mm), 2 ♀♀ (11.5 × 7.5 mm, 11.3 × 7.3 mm), 2 ovigerous ♀♀ (11.3 × 7.6 mm, 10.9 × 7.7 mm), ( ZRC 2016.0069), northeast of Zhongsha, 16°13.60′ N, 115°01.61′ E to 16°11.21′ N, 114°59.77′ E, stn CP4155, 526– 510 m, coll. ZHONGSHA 2015 Expedition, 28 Jul. 2015; 1 ♂ (12.5 × 7.7 mm) [photographed] ( ZRC 2016.0068), 1 ♂ (14.0 × 9.1 mm) [photographed] ( ZRC 2016.0070), 1 ♂ (11.0 × 7.1 mm), 1 ♀ (8.0 × 5.2 mm), 3 ovigerous ♀♀ (13.0 × 8.6 mm, 10.6 × 7.5 mm, 10.2 × 6.5 mm) ( ZRC 2016.0067), 2 ♂♂ (11.2 × 7.1 mm, 10.3 × 6.6 mm), 1 ♀ (9.0 × 6.0 mm), 1 ovigerous ♀ (10.3 × 6.9 mm) (MNHN-IU-2016-176), 2 ♂♂ (12.5 × 8.3 mm, 10.0 × 6.4 mm), 1 ♀ (11.0 × 7.1 mm), 1 ovigerous ♀ (11.2 × 7.3 mm) ( NTOU), northeast of Zhongsha, stn CP4156, 511– 510 m, 16°09.80′ N, 114°58.73′ E to 16°12.19′ N, 115°00.53′ E, coll. ZHONGSHA 2015 Expedition, 28 Jul. 2015.

Remarks

Oxypleurodon auritum was described from the east coast of Luzon, the Philippines ( Rathbun, 1916), and has also been reported from Tosa Bay, Japan ( Takeda & Nagai 1979; Lee et al. 2015). Richer de Forges & Ng (2009b) referred specimens from the Bohol Sea, with a similar “mushroom-shaped” cardiac plate to a new species, O. boholense Richer de Forges & Ng, 2009 . Two other species with similar cardiac plates, O. barazeri Richer de Forges & Ng, 2009b , from the Solomon Islands and O. christiani Richer de Forges & Corbari, 2012 from Papua New Guinea, were recently described ( Richer de Forges & Ng 2009b; Richer de Forges & Corbari 2012).

The present specimens from the SCS are clearly conspecific with O. auritum as presently defined. The previous record of O. auritum from the SCS by Lee et al. (2015) was based on one specimen from the NANHAI 2014 expedition; the recent surveys collected more material. The live colours of this species were documented by Richer de Forges & Ng (2009b) and Lee et al. (2015).

Distribution

This species was recorded from the Philippines ( Rathbun 1916), Japan ( Takeda & Nagai 1979) and South China Sea ( Lee et al. 2015).

Figures

Fig. 13. Colour in life. A. Naxioides robillardi (Miers, 1882), ♂ (39.2 × 24.5 mm) (ZRC 2016.01065), South China Sea. B. Oxypleurodon stimpsoni Miers, 1885, ♂ (with Sacculina, 14.0 × 9.0 mm) (ZRC 2016.0072), South China Sea. C. Oxypleurodon auritum (Rathbun, 1916), ♂ (16.7 × 11.1 mm) (ZRC 2016.0066), South China Sea. D. Oxypleurodon forte Lee, Corbari & Richer de Forges, 2015, ♂ (14.2 × 9.1 mm) (ZRC 2016.0078), South China Sea. E. Oxypleurodon sanctaeclausi Richer de Forges & Ng 2009, paratype, ♀ (18.7 × 16.8 mm) (ZRC 2009.0019) (after Richer de Forges & Ng 2009a). F. Stegopleurodon pteridion sp. nov., holotype, ♂ (13.1 × 7.9 mm) (NTOU), South China Sea. Scale bars: A = 10 mm; B–F = 5 mm.