Nymphon saharicum, Antolínez & Ramil, 2025

Nymphon saharicum View in CoL sp. nov.

( Fig. 5–6 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 )

Holotype. CCLME-1110: BT217, 1 ♂ ( MNCN 20.03 About MNCN /983)

Etymology. The proposed name for this new species corresponds to the area from which the specimen was collected.

Diagnosis. Nymphon saharicum sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of a tubercle with 2 spines on the dorsal margin of the lateral process, 15 smaller teeth on the immovable finger and 11 bigger on the movable, 3 rd and 5 th palp articles subequal, one strong spine in the distal part of tibia 2 and no auxiliary claws.

Description. Trunk slender and elongated in outline, completely segmented. Cephalon T-shaped, 0.9 times the size of the trunk; neck moderate, almost twice times longer than wide. Lateral processes 2.6 times longer than wide; separated by less than their own diameter; a low dorsodistal tubercle with 2 spines. Abdomen upwards 50º, reaching half of the lateral process from the 4 th leg. Proboscis cylindrical and short, shorter than the scape. Ocular tubercle a little bit taller than wide, blunt with pigmented eyes. Cheliphores long and robust, slightly setose; chela almost 1.5 times longer than the scape; chela fingers almost twice as long as the palm; immovable finger with 15 small teeth and movable finger with 11 teeth, bigger than those of the other finger. Palp 5-articled; 2 nd article the longest, 3 rd and 5 th articles subequal, 4 th shorter than the distal one. Last 2 articles setose. Oviger 10-articled; article 5 with distal apophysis, articles 7–10 (strigilis) with compound denticles, 5:5:4:4, terminal claw with 4–5 teeth. Legs slender and setose, 8 times as long as the trunk; coxa 2 nearly twice as long as other coxae, which are subequal; tibia 2 longest segment slightly longer than tibia 1 and both longer than femur; tibia 2 with one strong ventrodistal spine; tarsus 3/4 of propodus; main claw 3/5 of propodus; no auxiliary claws. Coxa 2 of legs 3 with ventrodistal round gonopore.

Male with eggs and larvae in the ovigers.

Measurements of holotype (mm): trunk length: 1.32; trunk width: 0,3; abdomen length: 1,18; Proboscis length: 0,66; width: 0,4; Cheliphore: total length: 1,67; scape: 0,7; chela: 0,97; fingers: 0,6; palm: 0,37; Palp: total length: 1,37; art.1: 0,14; art.2: 0,48; art.3: 0,27; art.4: 0,21; art.5: 0,28. Third leg: total length: 11,01; coxa 1: 0,41; coxa 2: 1,04; coxa 3: 0,51; femur: 1,69; tibia 1: 2,29; tibia 2: 2,41; tarsus: 0,85; propodus: 1,14; claw: 0,69. Oviger length: 3,26.

Remarks. The absence of auxiliary claws is one of the most important characteristics to identify species within the genus Nymphon . The species Nymphon mauritanicum Fage, 1942 , Nymphon caementarum Stock, 1975 and Nymphon granulatum Arnaud & Child, 1988 all lack auxiliary claws. Nymphon mauritanicum has tubercles in the lateral process but differs from Nymphon saharicum sp. nov., because the legs are more setose, it has a couple of spines in the dorsomedian parts of trunk segments, numerous short spines in the distal part of the lateral process, and a long and setose abdomen. In N. caementarum the ocular tubercle is similar, but the lateral process is smooth, and chelae alternate between one long and one or two shorter teeth. In N. granulatum the lateral process carries tubercles with long spines, but the ocular tubercle is very tall and columnar, with two small lateral sense organs and no eyes. Nymphon caldarium Stock, 1987 reported from the Strait of Gibraltar, is another species sharing some features with N. saharicum sp. nov.; however, N. caldarium has warty tubercles on the lateral processes, a low and mucronate ocular tubercle, and ventral spines in the propodus ( Stock 1987; Munilla & Soler-Membrives 2014). In our specimen, the tubercles on the distal surface of the lateral process are simple with 2 setae, the ocular tubercle is blunt, and the propodus is smooth.

Habitat. The sole specimen was collected from the northern coast off Western Sahara at a depth of 110 m.