Noculacia anima, Peart & Woods, 2025

Noculacia anima sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 View FIGURE 1 , 19–21 View FIGURE 19 View FIGURE 20 View FIGURE 21 )

Type material. Holotype: NIWA 155343 View Materials , male (7.5 mm), KAH1706/ GRAB 38 B.1/72.42, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°23.718’S 172°43.17’E, 35 m, 02/06/2017, NIWA GoogleMaps . Paratypes: NIWA 155534 View Materials , female (5.5 mm) ; NIWA 155535 View Materials , 3 juveniles (3–4 mm), from same locality and collection details as holotype .

Other material examined. NIWA 155536 View Materials , 1 male (6 mm), 1 female (5mm), KAH1706/ GRAB 27 B/110.17, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°21.63’S 172°46.74’E, 55 m, coll GoogleMaps . NIWA, 04/06/2017 ; NIWA 155537 View Materials , 1 female (6mm), KAH1706/ GRAB15 A.1/39.16, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°22.32’S 172°48.4302’E, 49 m, coll GoogleMaps . NIWA, 30/05/2017 ; NIWA 155538 View Materials , 1 juvenile (5 mm), KAH1706/ GRAB36 A.1/69.2, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°23.7498’S 172°46.818’E, 32 m, coll GoogleMaps . NIWA, 02/06/2017 ; NIWA 155539 View Materials , 4 males and juveniles, 4–6 mm, KAH1706/ GRAB40 A/74.44, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°22.69025’S 172°43.578’E, 44 m, coll GoogleMaps . NIWA, 02/06/2017 ; NIWA 155540 View Materials , 1 juvenile (4 mm), KAH1706/ GRAB11 B.3/86.22, Piwhane / Spirits Bay, Northland, New Zealand, 34°23.058’S 172°49.038’E, 41 m, coll GoogleMaps . NIWA, 03/06/2017 .

Etymology. The species name is derived from the Latin for spirit or breath, referring to the type locality name, Piwhane/Spirits Bay. It is a noun used in apposition.

Diagnosis.: Pereonite 1 with dorsal acute projection, bent forward. Pereonite 2 without dorsal projection anteriorly, no dorsal projection distally, with lateral acute projections (one on each side) near insertion of gnathopod 2. Pereonite 3–5 without dorsal or lateral projections. Mandibular palp article 3 setal formula 1-3-1. Inner lobes of lower lip rounded and not fused. Gnathopod 1 propodus margins smooth. Gnathopod 1 dactylus simple. Basis of gnathopod 2 with distal projection near coxa, basis longer than pereonite 2 length. Gills longer than wide. Pereopods 3 and 4 two-articulate, not spindle-shaped, both tipped with single simple seta. Pereopod 5 slender, slightly reduced in size.

Description. (Based on holotype male, NIWA 155343, 7.5 mm). Head with dorsal acute projection, bent forward. Eyes present and distinctive. Body smooth, not setose. Pereonite 1 fused with head, suture present, without projections. Pereonite 2 without dorsal projections, with two lateral acute projections (one on each side) near insertion of gnathopod 2. Pereonites 3–7 without dorsal or lateral projections. Pereonite 3 longest. Pereonite 7 shortest. Ratio of head to pereonites is 1: 1: 1.8: 3.2: 2.8: 2.6: 0.9: 0.7. Gills present at middle of pereonites 3–4, ovoid, length about 1.8 × width. Antenna 1 reaching halfway along pereonite 3; peduncle sparsely setose; article 1 robust, article 2 longest, longer than article 1 (1.4 ×) and article 3 (2.8 ×); article 3 shortest; flagellum with 13 articles. Antenna 2 sparsely setose, reaching to halfway along article 3 of antenna 1 peduncle; proximal peduncular article with distal projection (gland cone); swimming setae absent; distal two peduncular articles subequal in length, flagellum two-articulate. Mouthparts: upper lip symmetrically bilobed, smooth apically. Mandibles without mandibular molar. Three-articulate palp with setal formula 1-3-1, with single apical robust seta; left mandible with incisor five-toothed, lacinia mobilis three-toothed, followed by an accessory blade. Lower lip smooth, without setulae; inner lobes rounded and almost fused. Maxilla 2 inner lobe shorter than outer lobe, inner lobe subtriangular, with two apical setae, outer lobe elongated, with three apical setae. Maxilliped inner plate small and rounded, about ¼ of outer plate in length, carrying two apical setae; outer plate elongated, with three or four apical setae; palp four-articulate, sparsely setose, distal article (dactylus) curved and provided with rows of minute setulae.

Gnathopod 1 basis longer than combination of ischium, merus and carpus; grasping margin of propodus smooth; no obvious grasping spines, dactylus inner margin without short setulae, simple distally. Gnathopod 2 basis considerably longer than pereonite 2, with an anterodistal acute projection; ischium small, rectangular; merus rounded; carpus short and triangular; propodus of gnathopod 2 elongate, length 2.5 × width, slightly setose, palm defined by small subacute posterodistal corner; palm features two palmar projections, proximalmost sharply acute, distalmost strongly subquadrate; dactylus inner margin sinuous, both margins with minute setulae.

Pereopods 3 and 4 greatly reduced, two-articulate, provided with one distal simple slender seta; article 1 straight sided (not spindle shaped). Pereopod 5 reduced in robustness and length compared to pereopods 6–7, articles slender and weakly setose; propodus narrow and palm not defined by corner or grasping spines. Pereopods 6–7 similar in shape and size; propodus with row of setae on concave inner margin; proximal projection provided with two grasping spines; dactylus without row of fine setulae.

Pleon without appendages, two lateral lobes with simple setae and single smooth dorsal lobe.

Variations (paratype female, 5.5 mm). Antennae 1–2 less robust and less setose than in male; flagellum of antenna 1 with eight articles. Body pereonite 2 without lateral acute projections. Pereonites 3 and 5 same length and longest. Pereonites 1 and 7 shortest. Ratio of head to pereonites is 1: 0.8: 2.6: 3: 2.8: 3: 1.5: 0.9. Oostegites present on pereonites 3 and 4. Lateral lobes of pleon less setose than in male.

Distribution. Only reported from Piwhane/Spirits Bay, North Island, New Zealand.

New Zealand biosecurity status. Native.

Remarks. Noculacia is not commonly recorded and only has three species previously described globally ( N. africana Guerra-García, 2002 ; N. australiensis Guerra-García, 2002 ; and N. bullata Mayer, 1903 ). This genus also has strong similarities with Peudaeginella (a genus with one recorded New Zealand species). The only consistent difference between these two genera appears to be the number of articles in the reduced pereopods 3 and 4. As sometimes these articles are fused and a suture is present ( N. africana ), these two genera may prove to be synonyms, but a more detailed analysis is required than what is in the scope of this paper. Therefore, this new species is placed in Noculacia . The new species N. anima has an acute head projection (in both sexes) and smooth remainder of the body, and distinctly two-articulate straight sided pereopods 3 and 4 tipped with only one seta each. Noculacia africana (from southern Africa) has a very small head projection (male only), a smooth body, and pereopods 3 and 4 are uniarticulate and spindle-shaped, but with fusion suture, and each tipped with two slender setae.

Comparably, N. australiensis (from western and southern Australia) has no projections on the head (male and female), extensive body projections and two-articulate, slightly spindle-shaped pereopods 3 and 4 each tipped with only one slender seta; and N. bullata (from Indonesia) has small projections on head (male and female), numerous body projections, and uniarticulate (no suture present), spindle-shaped pereopods 3 and 4, tipped with one seta each.