Pseudaeginella biscaynensis ( McCain 1968 )

Paz-Ríos, Carlos E., Guerra-García, José M. & Ardisson, Pedro-Luis, 2014, REVIEW ARTICLE Caprellids (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the Gulf of Mexico, with observations on Deutella mayeri, redescription of Metaprotella hummelincki, a taxonomic key and zoogeographical comments, Journal of Natural History 48 (41 - 42), pp. 2517-2578 : 2555-2557

Pseudaeginella biscaynensis ( McCain 1968)

( Figures 19 , 20 )

Falotritella biscaynensis McCain, 1968: 57–61 , figs 27, 28. McCain and Steinberg, 1970: 51. Gable and Lazo-Wasem, 1987: 637–638. Ortiz et al., 2002, fig. 31. Guerra-García, 2002b: 223–225, figs 5–8.

Pseudaeginella biscaynensis Laubitz, 1995: 88 . Guerra-García, 2003d: 107, fig. 12. Guerra-García, 2004: 54, fig. 43. Diaz et al., 2005: 3, 7, 23, fig. 14. Guerra-García, 2006: 448–449, fig. 54.? Guerra-García and Lowry, 2009: 309–311, fig. 10.

Material examined

Station 28, two male, three females (one male and one female from this station used for figures), 8 May 2013, CYMX-47- CY . Station 29, three males, one female, CYMX-53- CY .

Type locality

Key Biscayne, Florida.

Distribution

Bermuda; Southern Florida; Gulf of Mexico; Barbuda Island; St Lucia Island; Venezuela ( McCain 1968; Gable and Lazo-Wasem 1987; Diaz et al. 2005); Tanzania; Papua New Guinea; Australia ( Guerra-García 2002b, 2003d, 2006).

Records in the Gulf of Mexico

MEX: Telchac Offshore; Cabo Catoche (present study). USA: Key Largo; Long Key ( McCain 1968).

Habitat

Pseudaeginella biscaynensis has been collected from red algae ( McCain 1968), the green algae Avrainvillea sp. and the seagrass Thallassia sp. ( Gable and Lazo-Wasem 1987), among coral, sponges, on the seagrasses Cymodocea sp. and Syringodium sp. , on the seaweed Galaxaura sp. , on the green algae Halimeda sp. , and calcareous red tubular algae ( Guerra-García 2002b, 2003d, 2006; Guerra-García and Lowry 2009). The depth range reported is 1–22 m ( LeCroy et al. 2009).

Remarks

Laubitz (1995) considered the genus Fallotritella synonymous with Pseudaeginella , based mainly on the presence in both nominal genera of minute pereopods 3 and 4. Pseudaeginella biscaynensis was recently redescribed by Guerra-García (2002b) with specimens from the Indian Ocean, with it later recorded in the Pacific Ocean (Guerra- García 2003d, 2006). Hence, this species is probably cosmopolitan but P. biscaynensis may prove to be a species complex due to its morphological variation among regions (Guerra-García 2006).

Pseudaeginella biscaynensis is basically identified by its spinose body, head with a single dorsal anteriorly directed acute projection, pereopod 5 inserted posteriorly on pereonite 5, and by its propodus of pereopod 6 and 7 with 2 proximal grasping spines ( McCain 1968; Guerra-García 2002b). The material examined in the present study agrees with the description and figures of specimens from Florida (type material), except for pereopod 5 being more robust and with grasping spine on propodus, and female gnathopod 2 with notch medially on propodus.

This species has been scarcely recorded in the western Atlantic region, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico, so demonstrating the poor knowledge of caprellids in that region. The lack of records for this species is probably due to its small size and since it is usually covered by detritus ( McCain 1968; present study). The present record for P. biscaynensis in the Gulf of Mexico is the second in the Gulf basin because it was originally described by McCain (1968) 45 years ago.

Figures

Figure 19. Pseudaeginella biscaynensis (McCain 1968). Yucatan, Mexico; CYMX-47-CY. Scale bar: 1 mm.

Figure 20. Pseudaeginella biscaynensis (McCain 1968). Yucatan, Mexico; CYMX-47-CY. Scale bars for Gn1, P3, P4 and Gn1 of female: 0.1 mm; scale bars for Gn2, Gn2 of female and P7 of female: 0.2 mm.