Clorida Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842

Clorida Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 View in CoL View at ENA

Clorida Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842: 264 View in CoL . [ Type species Clorida latreillei Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 , by subsequent designation by Fowler (1912: 302). Gender feminine].

Diagnosis. Eye small, pyriform, cornea bilobed, narrower than stalk; stalk short, strongly inflated laterally, medially flattened for at least proximal half. Ocular scales fused. Rostral plate broader than long. Carapace with or without anterolateral spines; without MD and IM carinae; with reflected MG and reduced LT carinae, distinct posteriorly only; posterolateral margin rounded. Raptorial claw dactylus with 4 or 5 teeth; carpus dorsal carina undivided; merus without outer inferodistal spine. Mandibular palp present or absent. MXP1–4 with epipod. PLP1 endopod in adult with posterior endite; hook process with distal point. TS5–7 lateral processes single. AS 1–6 with or without SM carinae. Telson inflated, dorsolateral surface with rows of denticles or tubercles, without rows of shallow pits; prelateral lobe present; SM teeth usually with movable apices. Uropodal protopod inner margin armed with slender spines.

Composition. Clorida albolitura Ahyong & Naiyanetr, 2000 ; C. bombayensis ( Chhapgar & Sane, 1967) ; C. daviei Ahyong, 2001 ; C. decorata ( Wood-Mason, 1875) ; C. depressa ( Miers, 1880) ; C. denticauda ( Chhapgar & Sane, 1967) ; C. gaillardi Moosa, 1986 ; C. granti ( Stephenson, 1953b) ; C. japonica Manning, 1978a ; C. javanica Moosa, 1974 ; C. latreillei Eydoux & Souleyet, 1842 ; C. obtusa Ahyong, 2001 ; C. rotundicauda ( Miers, 1880) ; C. seversi Moosa, 1973 ; C. wassenbergi Ahyong, 2001 .

Remarks. Clorida is most similar to genus Cloridina , but can be distinguished by eye morphology (Ahyong 2001). In the specimens of Clorida examined herein, the inner proximal half of the eye is flat, so that the eyes meet in the midline. In Cloridina , the inner eye margin is sinuous to convex, and the eyes do not fit together at the midline. Two groups of Clorida have been delineated based on the presence or absence of the mandibular palp. The first group represents species that lack a mandibular palp, lack submedian carinae on AS 1–5, lack a spine ventral to the lateral process of TS5, lack a distinct notch on the outer proximal margin of the dactylus and have four teeth on the dactylus of the raptorial claw. The second group includes species with a mandibular palp, SM carinae on AS 1–5, a distinct spine under the lateral process of TS5, a distinct notch on the outer proximal margin of the dactylus and usually five teeth on the dactylus of the raptorial claw. Two species of Clorida occur in South African waters, both belonging to the second group. One potentially represents an undescribed species and is a new species record for the region.