Ampelisca capella, Poore & Lowry, 2023

Poore, Gary C. B. & Lowry, James K., 2023, New Australian Species of Ampeliscidae (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Great Barrier Reef and Eastern Australia with a Key to Australian Species, Records of the Australian Museum (Rec. Aust. Mus.) 75 (4), pp. 519-533 : 522-524

Ampelisca capella sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2C53BB0C-D0AC-4E05-A010-05A81202086F

Figs 1 , 2

Holotype: AM P.85991 (with 2 microslides), female, tl. = 6.5 mm, Australia, Queensland, Lizard Island, 200 m NW of Palfrey Island , 14°40'S 145°28'E, J. K. Lowry, 16 Oct 1978 . Paratypes: AM P.105873, 8 individuals collected with holotype ; AM P.105875, 26 specimens , NMV J2132 , 5 specimens, Australia, Queensland, Lizard Island , 3 m, light traps, D. F. Smith and J. Marshall, Sep 1976 ; AM P.105874, 16 specimens, Heron Island , bommie west of harbour entrance, 23°26'S 151°55'E, J. K. Lowry, 7 Dec 1978 .

Other material examined. AM P.105846, 2 specimens, Australia, Queensland, Clack Island , 14°03'S 144°16'E, 3–7 m ; AM P.105820–105833, P.105835, P.105837, P.105838, P.105841–105843, P.105845, P.105847, P.105851, P.105852, 41 specimens, Lizard Island , 14°40'S 145°27'E, various localities, 3–18 m; AM P.105834, P.105836, P.105839, P.105840, P.105844, P.105848–105850, 11 specimens, One Tree Island , 23°30'S 152°05'E, various localities, 1– 6 m .

Description of holotype. Head. Head 1.2 times as long as deep; anteroventral margin oblique-horizontal; eyes present, with one pair of cuticular lenses. Antenna 1 peduncular article 2 long, about twice length of article 1; flagellum short, slightly longer than peduncle of antenna 2. Mandible palp article 2 slender.

Pereon. Coxae 1–3 with small posteroventral hooks on coxae 1 and 2 (obsolete on coxa 3). Gnathopod 1 coxa anterior margin slightly concave, anteroventral corner not produced. Pereopod 3 merus with 1 distal seta on extensor margin, with 4 distal setae on flexor margin; carpus with 6 setae on flexor margin; propodus with 7 setae on extensor margin; dactylus twice as long as propodus. Pereopod 4 524 Records of the Australian Museum (2023) Vol. 75 coxa about 1.2 times as long as wide; merus 2.5 times as long as wide, with setose margins; dactylus twice as long as propodus. Pereopod 5 basis anterior margin semicircular, with 6 long, plumose setae; ischium-dactylus 1.3 times as long as basis. Pereopod 6 basis subcircular, anterior margin with 3 long, plumose setae; ischium-dactylus 1.5 times as long as basis. Pereopod 7 basis posterodistal margin overlapping ischium, convex, oblique, distal margin densely setose; ischium longer than merus; merus anterior lobe slightly produced along anterior margin of carpus; carpus short (about as long as broad), carpus anterior lobe slightly produced; propodus inflated; dactylus lanceolate.

Pleon. Epimeron 1 with anteroventral curved seta. Epimeron 2 posteroventral corner with small tubercle. Epimeron 3 ventral margin with posterior dorsal inflection, posteroventral corner with broad rounded posteriorly directed tooth under shallow notch. Urosomite 1 with distally upturned carina. Urosomites 2–3 dorsal margin concave. Uropod 1 reaching beyond base of uropod 2 rami. Uropod 2 inner ramus with upper row of short robust setae; outer ramus with 1 long subterminal robust seta, upper margin with 2 short robust setae, outer margin with 3 short robust setae. Uropod 3 inner ramus broadly lanceolate, margins without setae; outer ramus 5 times as long as wide, distal upper margin serrate, with 4 plumose setae. Telson 1.6 times as long as wide, deeply cleft (75%), lateral margins evenly convex, with sublateral ridge bearing few setae; with pair of posterior small teeth separated from lateral margins by minute notches bearing 2 pairs of subapical setae.

Distribution. Australia, Queensland (Great Barrier Reef), lagoon, to 3 m.

Remarks. Ampelisca capella sp. nov. is immediately recognizable in Australia by the possession of only one pair of eyes with cuticular lenses on the anterior margin. Of the eight species described by Lowry & Poore (1985) with antenna 1 about as long as the peduncle of antenna 2, the new species differs from all in the shape of the pereopod 7 basis (narrower than most), shape of the telson (narrow with small apical teeth), and epimeron 3 (with a blunt posteroventral tooth). Ampelisca capella sp. nov. is most easily distinguished from the two species described from Lizard Island by King (2009) by the eyes, telson, and pereopod 7.

Figures

Figure 1. Ampelisca capella sp. nov., holotype, female, 6.5 mm, AM P.85991.

Figure 2. Ampelisca capella sp. nov., holotype, female, 6.5 mm, AM P.85991.