Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004, 2016

Pachelle, Paulo P. G., Anker, Arthur & Bezerra, Luis E. A., 2017, Re-identification of the material of Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004 from Ceará, northeastern Brazil, with the first record of N. cacahuate Felder & Manning, 1995 in the southwestern Atlantic, Zootaxa 4276 (3), pp. 346-356 : 347-348

Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004

( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Callianassa rathbunae Schmitt 1935: 15 , figs. 1–4; Rodrigues 1971: 699, figs. 19, 20. Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa 2004: 87 (replacement name); Pachelle et al. 2016: 30 (part.), fig. 21C [not fig. 21A, B = Sergio guassutinga ( Rodrigues, 1971) ].

Material examined. Brazil, Ceará: 1 female (cl not measured), LIMCE-UFC 710 , Icapuí, Praia de Requenguela , Banco dos Cajuais, sea grass mud flat, in burrow, suction pump, coll. P. Pachelle & A. Anker, 02.vi.2012 ; 1 male (cl 17.8 mm), MZUSP 34939 (ex LIMCE-UFC 711 ), Icapuí, Praia de Tremembé , sand-mud flat, in burrow, suction pump, coll. P. Pachelle, 12.ii.2014 ; 1 male (cl not measured), LIMCE-UFC 514 , Paracuru, Praia da Pedra Rachada , sand flat, in burrow, suction pump, coll. P. Pachelle, 15.x.2012 ; 1 male (cl 8.0 mm), LIMCE-UFC 515, same collection data; 2 juveniles (cl 4.1, 4.0 mm), MZUSP 32732 , Paracuru, Praia da Pedra Rachada , sand flat, in burrow, suction pump, coll. P. Pachelle, 11.viii.2014 .

Distribution. Western Atlantic: USA (Florida), Bahamas, Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil (Ceará, Pernambuco, Alagoas) ( Botter-Carvalho et al. 1995, as Neocallichirus rathbunae ( Schmitt, 1935) ; Calado et al. 1998, as N. rathbunae ; Sakai 2005; Pachelle et al. 2016).

Remarks. Neocallichirus maryae is very similar to N. raymanningi Blanco-Rambla & Lemaitre, 1999 from Venezuela. The two species differ in the shape of the rostrum (broadly rounded in N. raymanningi vs. triangular in N. maryae ), the armature of the major first cheliped in males (cf. Blanco-Rambla & Lemaitre 1999: fig. 1c; Biffar 1971: fig. 20b) and the development of the appendix interna on the male second pleopod (well-developed in N. raymanningi vs. reduced in N. maryae ). The specimens from Ceará match N. maryae in all diagnostic characters, including the triangular rostrum (cf. Biffar 1971: fig. 19f), the characteristic dentition of the major first cheliped (cf. Fig. 1 C; Biffar 1971: fig. 20b) and the general shape of the tail fan (cf. Fig. 2 ; Biffar 1971: fig. 20e). Noteworthy, Biffar (1971) did not illustrate the small spinules on the posterolateral margin of the telson (cf. Fig. 2 A, B) nor the rows of spines and spinules on the posterior margin of the uropodal exopod and endopod (cf. Fig. 2 C). In the largest male of N. maryae from Ceará (MZUSP 34939), the appendix interna on the second pleopod is similar in general shape to that of N. raymanningi , except for much shorter cincinnuli (cf. Blanco-Rambla & Lemaitre 1999: fig. 4b, c). Sakai (2005: 168–169, 2011) treated N. raymanningi as a junior synonym of N. rathbunae (= N. maryae ) arguing that all the characters used by Blanco-Rambla & Lemaitre (1999) to separate these two species are variable and therefore not valid. However, until more western Atlantic material of N. maryae and N. raymanningi is examined morphologically and genetically, we prefer to consider both species as valid.

Although fairly common in some intertidal areas of Ceará, N. maryae has been recorded from northeastern Brazil relatively sparsely, being presently known only from Ceará, Pernambuco and Alagoas ( Botter-Carvalho et al. 1995; Pachelle et al. 2016). In the field, N. maryae presents a uniform pale-pink colouration ( Fig. 1 ), which is similar to several intertidal callianassids, especially Neocallichirus cacahuate and Sergio guassutinga (see below). These three taxa may also occur syntopically, as for instance, on sand-mud flats with banks of Halodule sp. at Icapuí, and therefore may be easily confused in the field. Therefore, a thorough morphological examination of all callianassid specimens is necessary to confirm their identity and to avoid misidentifications. For morphological differences between N. maryae , N. cacahuate and S. guassutinga see below.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004: male (cl 8.0 mm) from Paracuru, Ceará, Brazil (LIMCE-UFC 515), A, dorsal view; B, lateral view; C, left (major) first cheliped, lateral view. Scale bars: 4 mm.

FIGURE 2. Neocallichirus maryae Karasawa, 2004: male (cl 17.8 mm) from Icapuí, Ceará, Brazil (MZUSP 34939), A, telson, dorsal view; B, same, detail of posterolateral margin; C, right uropod, dorsal view. Scale bars as indicated.