First record of Psathyrocaris infirma (Pasiphaeidae) from Madeira and the Canary Islands (Northeastern Atlantic)

BOCAGIANA Museu de História Natural do Funchal Bocagiana (2013) 237: 1-4 ISSN 2183-3141 (online edition) doi: xx.xxxx/xxxxx-xxxx.xxxxxxxxx.x Available online at: http://bocagiana.cm-funchal.pt Edição do Departamento de Ciência da Câmara Municipal do Funchal. Manuel Biscoito (Editor) Received 27 December 2013; Published 31 December 2013 © 2013 The authors. Bocagiana © 2013 Museu de História Natural do Funchal First record of Psathyrocaris infirma (Pasiphaeidae) from Madeira and the Canary Islands (Northeastern Atlantic) ** With 2 figures R. aRaújo 1 * , M. Biscoito 1 & j. a. González 2 1 Museu de História Natural do Funchal, Rua da Mouraria, 31, 9004-546 Funchal, Madeira, Portugal * Corresponding author: [email protected] 2 Grupo de Ecología Marina Aplicada y Pesquerías, Departamento de Biología, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus de Tafira, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias, España ** Contribution no. 22 of the Marine Biology Station of Funchal. ABSTRACT: The shrimp genus Psathyrocaris is recorded for the first time from Madeira and the Canary Islands, based on the first record of P. infirma Alcock & Anderson, 1894. This is the first species of the genus Psathyrocaris to be described from these Macaronesian archipelagos. Key words: Crustacea, Decapoda, Pasiphaeidae, Psathyrocaris infirma, new record, Madeira, Canary Islands, NE Atlantic Ocean. RESUMO: Neste artigo é assinalado pela primeira vez para as ilhas da Madeira e das Canárias uma espécie de camarão, Psathyrocaris infirma Alcock & Anderson, 1894. Esta é a primeira espécie do género Psathyrocaris assinalada para estes arquipélagos da Macaronésia. Palavras-chave: Crustacea, Decapoda, Pasiphaeidae, Psathyrocaris infirma, novo registo, Madeira, Ilhas Canárias, NE Oceano Atlântico. Bocagiana (2013) 237: 1-4 aRaújo et al. 2 INTRODUCTION The genus Psathyrocaris Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1893 is represented by five species, two of which, P. fragilis Wood-Mason & Alcock, 1893 and P. infirma Alcock & Anderson, 1894, have a world-wide distribution and the other three, P. plumosa Alcock & Anderson, 1894, P. platyophthalmus Alcock & Anderson, 1894 and P. hawaiiensis Rathbun, 1906 are restricted to the Indo-West Pacific ( lin & chan , 2001; FRansen et al., 2013). All species of this genus are deep sea dwellers, occurring from 315 m to 2000 m depth ( udekeM d’acoz , 1999; lin & chan , 2001). In the Northeast Atlantic and the Mediterranean only P. infirma and P. fragilis have been recorded to date, being sympatric throughout their distribution range ( udekeM d’acoz , 1999). Following two deepwater surveys off Madeira and the Canary Islands, two Psathyrocaris specimens were collected. They were identified as P. infirma, which is the first species of this genus to be recorded from these archipelagos. MATERIAL AND METHODS Two specimens collected with bottom traps, one in the Canary Islands in 2004 and the other in 2005 in Madeira. The specimens were preserved on board in 70% ethanol and measured afterwards according to standard carcinological procedures. They are deposited in the collections of Museu de História Natural do Funchal (MMF) and in the Biology Department of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), according to their collecting locality. Abbreviations used: CL – Carapace length. Psathyrocaris infirma Alcock & Anderson, 1894 (Figs. 1-2) Material examined MMF 36642 (Fig. 1), CL = 15 mm, ovigerous , cruise Chacmad-1, St. 24, 32º 40.4’ N 16º 44.6’ W, ca. 800 m, south of Santa Cruz, Madeira Island, 18 October 2005, bottom trap. ICCM 0090, CL = 16.6 mm, non-sexed due to lost pleopods, cruise Pandcan2, St. 13, 27º 41’ N 15º 49’ W, ca. 1050 m, 6 February 2004, Arguineguín, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, semi-floating shrimp trap. REMARKS In general, the two specimens recorded in the present paper agree well with the description of specimens collected in the Atlantic Ocean made by holthuis (1951). The rostrum shows the typical high upper margin, serrated in front, characteristic of this species and the carapace bears well marked lateral carinae (Fig. 1), similar to those present in a specimen from the “Ombango Expedition” ( cRosnieR & FoRest , 1973, figure 40e). Both the Ombango specimen and ours differ from the one reported by holthuis (1951, figure 2a) in having the post-orbital carina divided posteriorly into two branches (not divided in Holthuis’ specimen), both going upwards, one short towards the back of the carapace and the other, much longer, going towards the rostrum. In addition, a solitary undulated carina is present just above the lower branch of the post-orbital carina. This feature is not figured in any of the other specimens drawn by holthuis (1951) and cRosnieR & FoRest (1973). The sole second pereiopod present in the specimen from the Canaries bears a row of spines over the entire length of the posterior margin of the merus, as mentioned by cRosnieR & FoRest (1973) and figured by Balss (1925, figure 9). The second pair of pereiopods were lost in the specimen from Madeira. The Madeiran specimen is a female and carried three eggs. These are of enormous size, being 3.0 mm x 5.5 mm (Fig. 2). Once more it is confirmed that females of this species bear a low number of eggs, usually not more than three, as already found in cRosnieR & FoRest (1973) material. ♀ Bocagiana (2013) 237: 1-4 aRaújo et al. 3 Fig. 1 – Psathyrocaris infirma, MMF 36642, CL = 15 mm, ♀ (drawing by Helena Encarnação). Fig. 2 – Egg of Psathyrocaris infirma, MMF 36642, showing the embryo (scale bar = 1 mm). Distribution This species has been caught at mid-waters between the surface and 2000 m of depth ( Balss , 1925; calMan , 1939) and more frequently with bottom trawls between 359 m ( cRosnieR , 1970) and 1289 m ( Balss , 1925). The collections of the Madeiran and Canarian specimens fall within this interval and its presence inside both bottom and semi-floating traps, the latter placed ca. 2.4 m above the seafloor, corroborates that this species has both benthic and pelagic habits. This species is known from the West Indo-Pacific and several Atlantic locations (see udekeM d’acoz , 1999 for details). The specimens studied in the present paper were previously mentioned by aRaújo et al. (2008) in a collective poster and are here formally described as new records from Madeira and the Canary Islands. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are indebted to the late Helena Encarnação, of the Natural History Museum of Funchal, for providing the superb illustration of this species. Thanks are also due to Francis Zino, for the final reading of the manuscript and useful comments and the scientific teams on board the R/V “Arquipélago” and the F/V “Juan Carlos Primero” for technical Bocagiana (2013) 237: 1-4 aRaújo et al. 4 assistance, as well as to the masters and crews of the vessels. The Municipality of Funchal, the Government of the Canary Islands and the EU ERFD granted financial support to this research, in the framework of the PIC-Interreg III-B project PESCPROF-2 (03/MAC/4.2/M8). REFERENCES ARAÚJO, R., J. A. GONZÁLEZ, M. BISCOITO, A. L. COSTA, M. FREITAS & J. I. SANTANA: 2008. Novos assinalamentos para os Arquipélagos da Madeira e das Canárias de Crustáceos Decápodes capturados no âmbito dos Projectos PESCPROF. 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