Pigrogromitus timsanus Calman, 1927

Arango, Claudia P., 2003, Sea spiders (Pycnogonida, Arthropoda) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia: new species, new records and ecological annotations, Journal of Natural History 37 (22), pp. 2723-2772 : 2745

Pigrogromitus timsanus Calman, 1927

Pigrogromitus timsanus Calman, 1927: 408–410 , figure 104a–f; Hedgpeth, 1948: 214–216,

figure 23; Stock, 1968: 46; 1975b: 1015; 1991: 194; 1992: 93; 1994: 49; Child, 1992: 64,

figure 29; 1979: 46–47; 1988b: 21; Arnaud, 1972: 159; Staples, 1982: 457, figure 2g –j;

Müller, 1990: 97; Bamber, 1997a: 148, figure 1b.

Material examined. Lucinda jetty, in piling scrapes, 3 m,? 1999, one W with eggs (coll. Cruz).

Description. Compact species of 1.48 mm in trunk length, 1.04 mm wide, fully segmented, bumpy dorsum, crurigers wider than long, touching each other distally. Ocular tubercle anterior on cephalon; abdomen horizontal; proboscis inflated, broader distally, with mid-point constriction. Chelifores placed on each side of the proboscis, second scape segment longer than first, palm and fingers small, unarmed. Last segments of ovigers distally decreasing in size, pointed simple spine on last segment forming a subchelate structure with the curved terminal claw. Legs short, robust, femur the longest segment, with two ventral spines and a distal tubercle, mid-dorsal low swellings on tibiae; propodus longer than second tibia, curved, with no heel and few sole spines. Main claw about half the length of propodus.

Distribution. This is a pantropical-temperate species frequently collected in shallow habitats distributed widely over the world, including Indo-Pacific, Caribbean and Mediterranean localities. In Australia the species is known from the vicinity of Brisbane and this record from Cleveland Bay, both in Queensland.

Remarks. This is a particular mono-specific genus of Pycnogonum -like appearance.