Kempella mikado ( Kemp & Chopra, 1921 )

Kempella mikado ( Kemp & Chopra, 1921)

( Fig. 24 View FIGURE 24 )

Squilla stridulans Kemp, 1913: 78 (Japanese specimens only, not K. stridulans (Wood-Mason in Alcock, 1894)).

Squilla mikado Kemp & Chopra, 1921: 301 , fig. 2 [ type locality Misaki, Japan].— Komai, 1927: 320.— Manning, 1965: 257– 259, 262, pl. 12: fig. a.

Squilla zanzibarica Chopra, 1939: 143–148 , figs. 2, 4 [ type locality Zanzibar].

Oratosquilla mikado .— Manning, 1971b: 3.

Kempina zanzibarica .— Manning, 1981: 298–300, fig. 1.

Kempina mikado .— Manning, 1978c: 40, fig. 23a–c.— Moosa, 1986: 400–402, fig. 10.— Manning, 1991: 14; 1995: 24, 208.— Graham, et al. 1993a: 24, 64; 1993b: 73.

Kempina cf mikado .— Cannon, et al. 1987: 63.

Kempella mikado .— Low & Ahyong, 2010: 68.

Material examined. KZN: SAMC-A019343 , 1 ♀ (TL 83 mm), off Kwadukuza , 29°34’00.0”S 31°39’00.0”E, 9 Sep 1964, 118 m, stat. NAD 40 P GoogleMaps , UCT Ecological Survey, det. R.B. Manning ; SAMC-A092090 , 1 ♂ (TL 141 mm), 1 ♀ (TL 138 mm), off Durban , 29°44’12.0”S 31°22’36.0”E, 22 August 1988, 154 m, stat. 30-08 Icelandic trawl GoogleMaps , R. S. Benguela Natal Survey.

Other material examined. Mozambique: SAMC-A019450 , 1 ♀ (TL 156 mm), Mozambique, depth unknown, donated 1949, ex. Lourenco Marques Museum, det. K. H. Barnard. SAMC-A041712 , 2 ♀ (TL 183–187 mm), Mozambican Channel, 25°14’00.0”S 33°55’00.0”E, 6 Oct. 1994, depth unknown, stat. C00808-014-006-2193 GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Rostral plate with MD carina. Carapace with undivided portion of MD carina anterior to dorsal pit about 0.33–0.20 distance between dorsal pit and anterior margin. TS6 lateral process anterior lobe broad, trapezoid, apex acute; posterior lobe broad, triangular, anterior margin straight to slightly convex, apex acute. TS7 lateral process anterior lobe slender, trapezoid to spiniform, apex acute; posterior lobe broad, triangular, anterior margin straight to slightly convex, apex acute. Abdominal carinae spined as follows: SM 5–6, IM (1–2)3–6, LT 1–6, MG 1–5. Telson denticles SM 5–6, IM 12–16, LT 1. Uropodal exopod proximal segment with 10–13 movable spines on outer margin.

Colour in alcohol. Overall dorsal colour faded brown. AS 2 with dark brown mid-dorsal patch. AS 5 with pair of dark brown patches. Uropodal endopod dark distally.

Colour in life (Ahyong 2001). Overall dorsal colour light brown. Carapace grooves and posterior margin on TS and AS somites dark brown. Carapace with orange posteromedian margin. AS 2 with dark brown mid-dorsal patch. AS 5 with pair of dark brown patches. Telson with carinae infused with pale orange. Uropodal protopod and exopod with orangish margins; exopod with dark brown proximal segment extending onto distal segment proximally.

Measurements. ♂ (n = 1) TL 141 mm, ♀ (n = 5) TL 83–187 mm. CI 468–600. A1 peduncle 0.95–1.03CL. A2 scale 0.83–0.90CL.

Distribution and habitat. From Zanzibar, Mozambique and South Africa in the Western Indian Ocean to Vietnam, Japan, Philippines, New Caledonia and Australia. Found on level sandy or muddy substrates in the nearshore to outer continental shelf. Recorded previously from depths of 30– 804 m.

Remarks. Barnard (1950) reported on Kempella mikado (as Squilla mikado ) from Mozambique, with the suggestion that the species would occur in South Africa waters. The species was first reported from South Africa by Manning (1969a), commenting on several differences from the Japanese specimen described by Manning (1965). Manning’s (1969a) specimen is re-examined herein, and the suggested differences fall into the scope of variation described by Ahyong (2001) for specimens studied from Australia and Japan.

The present specimens agree well with Ahyong’s (2001) recent account from Australia. The species can be distinguished from the similar K. stridulans by the presence of a MD carina for the rostral plate ( Fig. 24A View FIGURE 24 ) and two dark patches on AS 5. The present study is the first to record a spined IM carina on AS 1, thereby, adding to the variation in abdominal carinae spination already documented for the IM carinae. Adults of K. mikado mature at a relatively large size. In specimens smaller than 55 mm TL, the anterior angles of the carapace and the mandibular palp are small and underdeveloped (Ahyong 2001). However, in males the petasma only appears mature at sizes 65–80 mm. No juvenile specimens were examined in the present study.