Periclimenaeus ascidiarum Holthuis, 1951

Periclimenaeus ascidiarum Holthuis, 1951 View in CoL

( Figs. 1–3)

Periclimenaeus ascidiarum Holthuis, 1951: 80 View in CoL , pl. 22, figs. g–l, pl. 23, figs. a–i.— Chace, 1972: 25, 26.— Coelho and Ramos, 1972: 146.— Ramos-Porto, 1980: 297.— Abele and Kim, 1986: 11, 89.— Ramos-Porto and Coelho, 1990: 105.— Ramos-Porto and Coelho, 1998: 337.— Coelho et al., 2006: 50, tab. 3.— Souza et al., 2011: 44.— Vieira et al., 2012: 13 View Cited Treatment , fig. 7 (map).— Ramos-Tafur and Lemaitre, 2017: 505 (key).— Pachelle et al., 2018: 130 View Cited Treatment , fig. 2.

Material examined. Brazil, Espírito Santo, off Vitória, Escalvada Island , 20°41’55.3”S 40°24’20.8”W, scuba dive, 15 m depth,coral rubble, inside Diplosoma sp. ( Fig. 4), coll. Sandra Vieira Paiva, 29 March 2017: 1 ovigerous female, 2.7 mm CL, MZUSP 39106 View Materials GoogleMaps ; 1 ovigerous female, 2.7 mm CL, MZUSP 39107 View Materials .

Distribution. Western Atlantic: USA (Florida), Colombia (Cape de La Vela), Dominica, Cuba (Batabanó Gulf), Panama (Bocas del Toro) and Brazil (Maranhão, Ceará, Pernambuco, Espírito Santo) ( Holthuis, 1951; Chace, 1972; Vieira et al., 2012; Pachelle et al., 2018; present study).

Remarks. The morphological characters in our specimens agree well with those described by Holthuis (1951), including (i)shape and armature of the rostrum ( Fig. 1A), (ii) first article of antennular peduncle with distolateral angle produced into small tooth ( Fig.1C), (iii) scaphocerite twice as long as broad, with a distinct lateral tooth ( Fig. 1D), (iv) proportions of the first pereopod ( Fig. 1E); (v) overall shape and armature of the second pereopods ( Fig. 2), and (vi) pereopods 3–5 with dactyli distally biunguiculate and bearing an additional proximoventral tooth ( Fig. 3B, D, F).

Holthuis (1951) described P.ascidiarum based on specimens associated with unidentified ascidians from Florida ( USA) and Cape la Vela ( Colombia). Since then, the species has been reported from several localities in the Caribbean and Brazil, but with no mention of an ascidian host ( Vieira et al., 2012). The new material suggests that P. ascidiarum occurs in colonial ascidians of the genus Diplosoma ; however, the range of host species remains to be investigated. The present material also represents the first record of P.ascidiarum in Espírito Santo, extending considerably its known southern distribution in the Atlantic Ocean from Pernambuco (8– 9°S) to Escalvada Island (20°S).