Chorisquilla spinosissima ( Pfeffer, 1888 )

Chorisquilla spinosissima ( Pfeffer, 1888)

( Fig. 13 View FIGURE 13 )

Gonodactylus spinosissima Pfeffer, 1888: 35 [type locality Mombasa, Kenya, by neotype selection (Ahyong 2001)].

Protosquilla spinosissima .— Manning, 1968a: 55–56.

Chorisquilla spinosissima .— Cappola & Manning, 1995: 280.—Ahyong 2001: 95–97, fig. 46; 2005: 160.— Poupin et al., 2019: 7, fig. 2D.

Chorisquilla longispinosa Sun & Yang, 1998: 143–144 , 151–152, fig. 1 [ type locality Sanjiao Reef , Nansha Islands , South China Sea].

Material examined. KZN: SAMC-A015623 , 1 ♂ (TL 40 mm), 1 ♀ (TL 34 mm), Sodwana Bay, 27°31’00.1”S 32°40’59.9”E, 1 Aug 1976, 13.5 m, RW 24, coll GoogleMaps . R. Winterbottom, det. S. Ahyong ; SAMC-A015622 , 2 ♂ (TL 12–18 mm), Sodwana Bay, 27°31’00.1”S 32°40’59.9”E, 28 Jul 1976, 13.5 m, RW 21, same as above GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Raptorial claw propodus with movable spine proximally. AS 4 smooth medially; laterally corrugated. AS 5 with posterolateral spine; smooth medially, at most with row of short, narrow, transverse grooves on posterior margin; laterally corrugated and carinate; posterior margin unarmed. AS 6 anterior margin with row of short, slender, posteriorly directed spines; dorsally ornamented with numerous long spines. Telson with 2 pairs of primary teeth, apices spiniform; dorsal surface entirely covered with long spines, obscuring MD and SM bosses; MD boss circular to ovate, SM bosses extending posteriorly beyond apex of median excavation; lateral margin with 7–12 short spines; 7–11 spiniform SM denticles, increasing in length distally; and 2 spiniform IM denticles; ventral surface with low, short, postanal carina. Uropodal protopod dorsally with 1 or 2 slender proximal spines and shorter spine above proximal exopod articulation. Uropodal exopod proximal segment outer margin with 10 or 11 movable spines.

Colour in alcohol. Completely faded. Ahyong (2001) describes the body to be uniformly dark green-brown in recently preserved specimens and Manning (1968a) records preserved material from Nosy Bay, Madagascar, as mottled brown with telson and uropod more lightly coloured than body.

Measurements. ♂ (n = 3) TL 12–40 mm, ♀ (n = 1) TL 34 mm.A1 peduncle 0.59–0.86CL.A2 scale 0.44–0.50CL. Uropodal endopod length 3.38–3.60 times width. The present specimen of TL 40 mm is the largest recorded.

Distribution and habitat. Indian Ocean from South Africa, Madagascar, Mayotte and Somalia to Sri Lanka, Red Sea, South China Sea and north-western Australia; shallow intertidal to 14 m (Ahyong 2001).

Remarks. First recorded for southern Africa in Madagascar by Manning (1968a), this small species is known from shallow reef habitats of the Indian Ocean and South China Sea; Moosa’s (1991) records from New Caledonia at 65 m are based on C. hystrix . The present series of C. spinosissima was examined by Ahyong (2005) for his paper on coral reef related Stomatopoda from Sodwana Bay, South Africa, and agree well with Manning’s (1968a) description of the species from Madagascar and the more-recent species account from Australian waters (Ahyong 2001).

With size, the development of the number of marginal spines of the telson viewed ventrally is a feature recorded in specimens of both C. spinosissima and C. hystrix . In the smallest specimen examined (TL 12 mm), 7 or 9 spines are present on the lateral margins of the telson; by TL 18 mm, 8 or 10 spines, and by TL 34 mm, 10 spines are present. The largest specimen (TL 40 mm) has 11 or 12 spines on the lateral margins of the telson.

PSEUDOSQUILLIDAE Manning, 1977a View in CoL

Pseudosquillidae Manning, 1977a: 95 View in CoL . [ Type genus Pseudosquilla Dana, 1852 View in CoL ].

Diagnosis (after Ahyong 2001). Dorsal surface of A2 protopod with articulated, ventrally carinate plate. Raptorial claw ischiomeral articulation terminal; propodus occlusal margin evenly pectinate proximally, becoming sparsely pectinate distally; dactylus slender with 3 teeth, basally uninflated. Mandibular palp 3-segmented. MXP1–5 with epipod. AS 6 articulating with telson. Telson with distinct, slender MD carina; SM denticles absent in adults. Articulation of uropodal exopod segments terminal; distal spines on outer margin of uropodal exopod slender, straight or slightly curved, but not strongly recurved anteriorly.

Composition. Pseudosquilla Dana, 1852 ; Pseudosquillana Cappola & Manning, 1995 ; Pseudosquillisma Cappola & Manning, 1995 ; Raoulserenea Manning, 1995 .

Remarks. While only two of the four genera have been recorded in South Africa, it is expected that Pseudosquilla , previously recorded from Mozambique, may occur along the east coast of South Africa.