Raoulserenea Manning, 1995

Raoulserenea Manning, 1995 View in CoL View at ENA

Raoulserenea Manning, 1995: 116 View in CoL . [ Type species Pseudosquilla ornata Miers, 1880 , by original designation. Gender feminine].

Diagnosis (after Ahyong 2001). Eye with cornea broadened, but not bilobed, as broad as or broader than stalk. Rostral plate ovoid, with or without short anterior spine. Carapace dorsum with pair of large, dark, circular ‘eyespots’. Raptorial claw propodus with 3 movable spines proximally. AS 1–5 with MG carinae only. Telson dorsal surface with 3 longitudinal carinae lateral to MD carina (accessory MD, anterior SM, MG). Uropodal protopod terminating in 2 slender, flattened spines, outer spine longer.

Composition. Raoulserenea hieroglyphica ( Manning, 1972a) ; R. komaii ( Moosa, 1991) ; R. moorea Ahyong & Caldwell, 2017 ; R. ornata ( Miers, 1880) ; R. oxyrhyncha ( Borradaile, 1898) .

Remarks. Colour pattern is particularly important in distinguishing species of Raoulserenea . Presently, the two species bearing an anterior spine on the rostral plate, R. komaii and R. oxyrhyncha , can be distinguished only by colour pattern and might prove conspecific. Species of Raoulserenea are common on coral reefs amongst rubble and live coral on the reef flat and slope. A feature shared by species of the Raoulserenea and Pseudosquillisma is the presence of paired ‘eyespots’ on the carapace, the function of which is unknown (Ahyong, 2001). Three species of Raoulserenea have been recorded from Sodwana Bay, South Africa.

Key to South African species of Raoulserenea View in CoL

1. Rostral plate with short median anterior spine............................................................... 2

– Rostral plate rounded or angular anteriorly but without median spine..................................... R. ornata

2. Carapace ‘eyespots’ with diffuse margins, at most surrounded by several small, white spots or pale diffuse patches................................................................................................. R. oxyrhyncha

– Carapace ‘eyespots’ well-defined, surrounded by continuous or near continuous white ring.................... R. komaii