Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902 )

Padate, Vinay P., Ahyong, Shane T., Shaji, Aleesha K., Cubelio, Sherine Sonia & Saravanane, Naray- Anane, 2021, First records of two species of reef-associated mantis shrimps (Crustacea Stomatopoda) from India, Zootaxa 5047 (5), pp. 557-566 : 558-560

Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902)

( Figs. 1A , 2A–H , 3A–H )

Gonodactylus drepanophorus De Man, 1902: 914 , pl. 27, fig. 68, 68a [type locality: Ternate, Indonesia].— Kemp 1913: 11 (list), 148 (key), 173.— Hansen 1926: 30, pl. 2, fig. 1a.

Gonodactylopsis drepanophora .— Manning 1969b: 150 (key).— Moosa 1974: 73, figs. 1a–c. — Manning, 1995: 20 (list).— Erdmann & Manning 1998: 621 (remarks).

Mesacturus drepanophorus .— Manning 1967: 2.— Shanbhogue 1975: 524 (list), 539 (key).

Material examined. IO /SS/STO/00008, 1♀, TL 24.0 mm, Andaman Sea , east of Little Andaman Island, FORVSS 38806, 10.72°N, 92.71°E, 53 m, chain dredge, coll. Vinay P. Padate, 10 August 2019 .

Description of Indian specimen. Body subcylindrical, convex. Eye large, reaching beyond distal end of second antennular segment. Cornea subglobular, as wide as eyestalk. Ocular scales rounded, separate; anterior margin of ophthalmic somite triangular, small distal point.Antennular somite dorsal processes low, margin irregular. Antennular peduncle 0.52 CL. Antennal protopod with articulated plate dorsally, small distoventral spine; antennal scale with setose margins, length 0.31 CL.

Rostral plate trispinous, median spine slender, not reaching corneal base, lateral spines wider, triangular, directed anterolaterally. Carapace anterolateral and posterolateral angles rounded; dorsal surface smooth, carinae absent; gastric grooves present, cervical groove absent.

Mandibular palp present, with 2 articles. Maxillipeds 1–5 each with epipod, first epipod largest; maxillipeds 1, 3–5 with ischium elongate, merus moderately long, carpus short, propodus ovate, dactylus elongated, apposed to propodus. Maxilliped 5 merus and carpus slightly expanded ventrally.

Raptorial claw propodus occlusal margin sparsely pectinate proximally, bearing 1 movable spine proximally; dactylus outer margin strongly inflated proximally, with basal notch; occlusal margin finely serrated distally.

Thoracic somites 5–8 smooth dorsally, lateral margins rounded.

Abdominal somites 1–5 smooth dorsally, bearing low marginal carina and adjacent lateral depression, unarmed; somite 6 dorsal surface with submedian, intermediate and lateral bosses, each terminating in spine.

Telson wider than long, with 3 pairs of primary teeth: submedian teeth long, with movable apices, bearing 5–6 blunt dorsal spines; intermediate teeth moderately long, bearing 1 pair of blunt dorsal spines; lateral teeth sharp, shorter than half length of intermediate teeth; 13 submedian denticles. Dorsal surface with well-separated carinae. Median carina weakly inflated, terminating posteriorly in blunt tooth, followed by blunt median spine; accessory median carinae with 2 pairs of posterior directed short spines; anterior submedian carinae terminating posteriorly in blunt spine, followed by 5 blunt spines, of which anterior 4 spines arranged in two pairs, fifth spine located at base of submedian tooth; short spine on inner side of base of submedian tooth; anterior intermediate carina bearing 3 spines, posteriormost spine located at base of intermediate tooth. Ventral surface smooth, submedian and intermediate teeth with longitudinal carina.

Uropodal protopod bearing 2 gently curved primary spines, outer spine longer, wider, inner margin smooth, overreaching posterior margin of exopod; slender spine above articulation of exopod; endopod shorter than exopod, crescent-shaped, distal tip curved inwards, outer margin setose, inner margin without setae; exopod proximal article with 12 movable spines on outer margin, posterior 8 spines distinctly recurved, distalmost spine not reaching end of distal exopod article; distal article length about twice width, outer margin setose, inner margin glabrous.

Colour (preserved in ethanol). Body pale brown, carapace with scattered dark pigmentation anteriorly between gastric groove and lateral plate, elongated dark spot on inner side of posterior half of gastric groove, dark pigmentation on cervical region comprising one median and pair of submedian dark spots in addition to scattered dark pigmentation. Thoracic sternite 6 with dark pigmentation including median spot. Posterior half of abdominal somite 1 with dark median spot surrounded laterally and posteriorly by dark mottled patch; somites 3–5 with small dark median spot flanked by 1 pair of submedian spots, somite 6 with minute dark spot anteriorly between submedian and intermediate carinae. Telson with minute dark spot anterior to submedian carinae. Cornea with dark pigmentation. Raptorial claw, pereiopods pale grey; telson, uropodal protopod and proximal segment brown; uropodal endopod and distal segment of exopod white.

Remarks. Gonodactylopsis drepanophora was originally described in the genus Gonodactylus from a female specimen (TL 18.5 mm) from Ternate, Indonesia (De Man 1902: pl. 27, fig. 68, 68a). Kemp (1913) provided a short diagnosis of this species based on De Man’s account, and included it in the identification key to species. Hansen (1926: pl. 2, fig. 1a) reported a small specimen (11.8 mm, sex indeterminate) from Timor, Indonesia, which differed from the holotype in having: (1) the outer spine of the uropodal protopod posteriorly extending beyond exopod; (2) uropodal exopod with the proximal segment more posteriorly prolonged, and bearing 9–10 recurved spines on outer margin; (3) uropodal exopod with slightly oval-shaped distal segment with length lesser than two times width, setose in distal half; (4) uropodal endopod with inner margin thickened and strongly curved distally, distal half of outer margin setose. These observations of Hansen (1926) reflect the juvenile condition of his specimen. Manning (1967) tentatively assigned G. drepanophora to Mesacturus Miers, 1880 , and then Manning (1969b) established Gonodactylopsis Manning, 1969b (for G. herdmani Tattersall, 1906 and G. drepanophora ). Manning (1969b) characterized Gonodactylopsis by the combination of a trispinous rostral plate, subglobular cornea, carapace lateral plates with rounded anterior margins, presence of a mandibular palp, and subterminal articulation of the uropodal exopod segments, with the proximal segment extending well beyond articulation with the distal segment. Moosa (1974: fig. 1a–c) reported a TL 14 mm female specimen from Ambon Bay, Indonesia, and provided a detailed morphological description for the same.

Since then, only two species of Gonodactylopsis were known until Erdmann & Manning (1998) described a new species Gonodactylopsis komodoensis Erdmann & Manning, 1998 , from Indonesia. The three known species of Gonodactylopsis are distinguished in the key below.

The present Andaman Sea specimen agrees with the original description and illustrations of holotype of G. drepanophora , but differs from the other previously reported Indonesian specimens in possessing greater number of blunt spines on the dorsal surface of submedian and intermediate marginal teeth. These differences are attributed to allometry, as the present specimen is the largest known of G. drepanophora .

Geographical distribution and habitat. Indonesia: Ternate, Halmahera (De Man 1902), Timor ( Hansen 1926), Ambon Bay, Maluku ( Moosa 1974); margins delimiting mud and coral, among Lithothamnium ( Hansen 1926) , also in mud and rubble, 34–80 m depth ( Hansen 1926; Moosa 1974). The present specimen was collected from coral reef at 53 m depth and represents the first record of the species from Indian Andaman Sea waters.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus:A, Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902), ♀, TL 24.0 mm, IO/SS/STO/00008; B, Cloridina malaccensis (Manning, 1968), ♂, TL 68.0 mm, IO/SS/STO/00016. Scale: 5 mm.

FIGURE 2. Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902), ♀, TL 24.0 mm, IO/SS/STO/00008 (colour photographs). A, dorsal view of carapace; B, dorsal view of ocular and rostral plates; C, ischio-meral articulation of raptorial claw; D, external view of raptorial claw dactylus and propodus; E, propodi of maxillipeds 3–4; F, thoracic somites 5–8; G, dorsal view of abdomen, telson and uropods; H, ventral view of telson and uropods. Scale: A, G, H, 2 mm; C–F, 1 mm; B, 500 μm.

FIGURE 3. Gonodactylopsis drepanophora (de Man, 1902), ♀, TL 24.0 mm, IO/SS/STO/00008 (line illustrations). A, dorsal view of carapace; B, dorsal view of ocular and rostral plates; C, ischio-meral articulation of raptorial claw; D, external view of raptorial claw dactylus and propodus; E, propodi of maxillipeds 3–4; F, thoracic somites 5–8; G, dorsal view of abdomen, telson and uropods; H, ventral view of telson and uropods. Scale: A, G, H, 2 mm; C–F, 1 mm; B, 500 μm.