Anoplodactylus valeriae, Antolínez & Ramil, 2025

Anoplodactylus valeriae View in CoL sp. nov.

( Fig. 9–10 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10 )

Holotype. BISSAU-0810: BS152, 1♂ ( MNCN 20.03 About MNCN /986)

Etymology. This species has been dedicated to the niece of the first author, Valeria Ruiz Antolínez, hoping one day she found so much love in the ocean as her aunt does.

Diagnosis. Anoplodactylus valeriae sp. nov. is characterized by the presence of a conical dorsodistal tubercle in the lateral process, ocular tubercle conical, propodus with 3 strong spines on the heel and a distal lamina extending 37% of the sole length, a single tubular (o conical?) cement gland duct on femur of the last 3 pairs of legs.

Description. Trunk slender, without segmentation. Cephalon rectangular, 1.5 times longer than wider. Lateral processes 1.4 times longer than wider; separated by less than their own diameter; armed with a conical dorsodistal tubercle. Abdomen long and conical in shape, elevated 38º. Proboscis long and slightly widened in the middle. Ocular tubercle 1.5 times longer than wide, conical and inclined in the direction of the proboscis, with the distal part pointed and curved; eyes pigmented. Cheliphores shorter than the proboscis and slightly setose; chela half longer than the scape; chela fingers more or less equal than the palm; without teeth. Palps and even palps buds lacking. Oviger 6-articled; 2nd article slightly curve, 3 rd article the longest, distal claw absent. Legs slender and setose, nearly 4 times as long as trunk; coxa 1 with two dorsodistal tubercles; coxa 2 subequal to sum of the others and with a genital spur on the ventrodistal margin of the 3 rd and 4 th pair of legs; femur the longest article, tibia 1 and tibia 2 subequal; single femoral cement gland duct conical shaped and located dorsally in the middle part of the femur, on the last 3 pairs of legs; tarsus short with one ventral spine; propodus straight, heel prominent with 2 strong spines follow by 2 fine spines; sole with 5 slightly curved spines following by some small ones; distal lamina extending 37% of sole length; main claw subequal to the sole; auxiliary claws lateral and very short.

Measurements of holotype (mm): trunk length: 1.01; trunk width: 0.24; abdomen length: 0.34; Proboscis length: 0.71; width: 0.24; Cheliphore: total length: 0.64; scape: 0.44; chela: 0.2; fingers: 0.1; palm: 0.1. Third leg: total length: 3.98; coxa 1: 0.21; coxa 2: 0.41; coxa 3: 0.28; femur: 0.84; tibia 1: 0.74; tibia 2: 0.74; tarsus: 0.08; propodus: 0.39; claw: 0.29; auxiliary claw: 0.02. Oviger length: 1.84.

Remarks. The presence of an unsegmented trunk, a lateral process bearing a dorsodistal tubercle, a conical ocular tubercle, a long propodal lamina, and a single tubular cement gland duct are distinctive features of Anoplodactylus valerie . Within the Anoplodactylus genus only one species, Anoplodactylus prominens Bamber & Takahashi, 2005 brings together all the characteristics. However, there are obvious differences that clearly separate both species. In A. prominens the trunk is relatively compact (L/W ratio 1.29) but slender (L/W ratio 4.25) in the new species. Moreover, A. prominens has a short neck, lateral processes are separated by less than half the diameter, in addition to the main tubercle there are 1–4 minute dorsodistal tubercles each bearing a seta, and the abdomen is short (L/W ratio 1.5). By contrast, in A. valeriae sp. nov. the neck is longer, lateral processes are separated by almost their own diameter, they are devoid of dorsodistal minute tubercles, and the abdomen is longer (L/W ratio 2.26). The chela fingers and the two terminal oviger articles carry setae in A. prominens but not in our species. The legs are relatively compact with numerous strong protuberances bearing a short seta, and a prominent genital spur is located on coxa 2 of the 4 th leg in A. prominens , compared with slender legs devoid of protuberances, with genital spurs located on coxa 2 of 3 rd and 4 th legs, and a shorter propodal lamina (25% vs. 37%) in A. valeriae sp. nov.

Other species, namely Anoplodactylus justi Müller, 1992 , Anoplodactylus vemae Child, 1982 and Anoplodactylus vulcanus Child, 1992 share several but not all of the aforementioned features (see Table 3). Specifically, in A. justi the ocular tubercle is tall but capped with a triangular cone, coxa 1 carries laterodistal setae but not dorsodistal tubercles, and the propodal lamina is shorter (25% vs. 37%). In A. vemae the lateral process has no distal tubercle, palp buds are present, and the propodal lamina is shorter (25% vs. 37%). In Anoplodactylus vulcanus the trunk is compact, tubercles of the lateral process carry a seta, the propodal lamina is longer (75% vs. 37%), and the femoral cement gland duct develops a volcano-like swelling.

Finally, we want to highlight that although in our specimen the apical cone of the eye tubercle is bent forward, this feature may be the result of a deformation that occurred during the sampling process, and it is likely that the apical cone is normally erect. Therefore, new materials should be studied to elucidate the true shape of the ocular tubercle in this species.

Geographical distribution. The sole specimen was collected in Guinea-Bissau at 303 m depth .