Two new species of Ammothea (Pycnogonida, Ammotheidae) from Antarctic waters
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Two new species of Ammothea (Pycnogonida, Ammotheidae) from Antarctic waters Esperanza Cano • Pablo J. Lo´pez-Gonza´lez
Received: 26 July 2011 / Revised: 13 July 2012 / Accepted: 31 July 2012 Springer-Verlag and AWI 2012
Abstract Two new species of the genus Ammothea are described from Elephant Island and the South Shetlands Islands, Antarctica. The material was captured during the Polarstern cruise XXIII/8 to the Antarctic Peninsula area. The main features of Ammothea pseudospinosa n. sp. are a proboscis distinctly trilobulated distally with a constriction at 2/3 of its length and dimorphism between the propodi of the anterior (first and second) and posterior (third and fourth) legs, and a trunk: proboscis length ratio of about 1.5. The main features of Ammothea childi n. sp. are a cylindrical proboscis, longer than trunk length, and adults with functional chelifores. These species are compared with their closest congeners from the Southern Ocean: A. pseudospinosa n. sp. with Ammothea spinosa and Ammothea allopodes; A. childi n. sp. with Ammothea gigantea, Ammothea bicorniculata and Ammothea hesperidensis. Keywords Pycnogonida Southern Ocean Antarctica Ammothea New species
Ammothea Leach 1814 is the best represented genus, with 26 species (Munilla and Soler 2009). The most recent reports on pycnogonids of this family, from the Antarctic and subantarctic waters, with special emphasis on the species genus Ammothea, are those of Child (1994; different Antarctic areas), Fry and Hedgpeth (1969; Ross Sea), Guzzo and Gravina (2001; Magellanic Strait and Ross Sea), Munilla (2000, 2001, 2002, 2005; Scotia Sea; Drake Passage; Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding island waters), Turpaeva (1974; Scotia Sea), Pushkin (1993; different Antarctic areas) and Cano and Lo´pez-Gonza´lez (2007; Ross Sea). These authors, mainly Fry and Hedgpeth, and Child, summarized references, the historical background, and previous investigations from the Southern Ocean pycnogonid fauna. After recent Antarctic collections, we have had the opportunity to study a small set of specimens of Ammothea. Among these specimens, two morphospecies cannot be assigned to any of the previously described species. The goal of this work is the description of these two new species of Ammothea from the South Shetlands Islands.
Introduction The family Ammotheidae is a common pycnogonid group in Antarctic and subantarctic waters. In this area, Communicated by P. Funch. E. Cano (&) P. J. Lo´pez-Gonza´lez Biodiversidad y Ecologı´a de Invertebrados Marinos, Departamento de Zoologı´a, Facultad de Biologı´a, Universidad de Sevilla, Avda. Reina Mercedes 6, 41012 Seville, Spain e-mail: [email protected] P. J. Lo´pez-Gonza´lez e-mail: [email protected]
Materials and methods The specimens examined in this study were collected during the Polarstern cruise XXIII/8 (November 23, 2006– January 30, 2007) by bottom trawl and a small Agassiz trawl at the South Shetlands Islands, Antarctica (Fig. 1). Individuals were fixed in 10 % buffered formalin and then trans
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