Raoulserenea komaii ( Moosa, 1991 )

Raoulserenea komaii ( Moosa, 1991)

Pseudosquilla komaii Moosa, 1991: 171–173 , fig. 4 [ type locality Chesterfield Islands , New Caledonia].

Raoulserenea komaii . — Manning, 1995: 21, 116.—Ahyong 2001: 121–122, fig. 59; 2002a: 357, fig. 6; 2005: 162; 2007: 334.— Ahyong & Davie, 2002: 70.— Ahyong & Erdmann, 2003: 335.— Ahyong, 2014: 251.—Ahyong & Caldwell, 2017: 612, fig. 2C.

Material examined. No material available for study.

Previously reported South African material. KZN: SAMC-A015619 , 1 ♀ (TL 92 mm), Sodwana Bay, 27°31’00.1”S 32°40’59.9”E, 25 Jul 1976, 13.5 m, RW 76–19, coll GoogleMaps . R. Winterbottom, det. S. Ahyong.

Diagnosis (after Ahyong 2001). Cornea noticeably broader than stalk, trapezoid in dorsal view. Rostral plate ovoid, with short anterior spine. Carapace dorsum with pair of dark ‘eyespots’ surrounded by continuous or near continuous light ring. Raptorial claw propodus with pale spots. Thoracic and abdominal somites with rows of small pale spots and lines. AS 1–2 posterolaterally rounded. AS 3–4 posterolaterally angular. AS 5 with posterolateral spine. Uropodal exopod proximal segment with 11 movable spines on outer margin.

Colour in alcohol. Detailed accounts given by Moosa (1991) and Ahyong & Erdmann (2003). Moosa (1991) describes newly preserved material with “Dense reticulated arrangements - somewhat resembling panther pattern - seen on the anterolateral part of carapace and, with slightly different pattern, on antero-median part of carapace”. He continues “Carapace with a pair of large black spots surrounded by almost entire light ring which is interrupted only at dorso-posterior part.”

Colour in life (after Ahyong & Caldwell 2017). Body and carapace with strongly reticulated pattern of light and dark with the paired ‘eyespots’ on the carapace surrounded by a continuous or near continuous white ring.

Measurements. ♀ (n = 1) TL 92 mm. Ahyong (2001) records the largest specimen at TL 100 mm from Australia.

Distribution and habitat. From French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Australia, Guam and Japan to South Africa; 1–13.5 m ( Ahyong, 2005). Associated with coral reefs systems; 0–25 m (Ahyong & Caldwell 2017).

Remarks. The single specimen of Raoulserenea komaii collected from Sodwana, KZN, was deposited in the Iziko collection and reported on by Ahyong (2005). However, since the review, the specimen has dried out and has been badly damaged so that it can no longer be satisfactorily studied. Thus, the present study is substantially reliant on the previous account. Ahyong (2005) identified the specimen, remarking on its colour pattern closely resembling that of the holotype from New Caledonia ( Moosa 1991) as well as specimens from Guam ( Ahyong & Erdmann 2003). The present specimen exhibits a reticulated colour pattern on the body and carapace and a distinct pale ring surrounding the characteristic ‘eyespots’ on the carapace.

At present, R. komaii and R. oxyrhyncha are only distinguishable by colour pattern, with R. komaii consistently having a pattern of light and dark markings strongly reticulated on the carapace and body (Ahyong & Caldwell 2017). The most noticeable difference in preserved specimens is the continuous ring surrounding the paired eyespots on the carapace of R. komaii , versus the (at most) pale blotches present around the eyespots of R. oxyrhyncha . In colour pattern, R. komaii is most similar to R. hieroglyphica Manning, 1972a (Ahyong 2017; Ahyong & Caldwell 2017), but is readily identified by the presence of the rostral apical spine, absent in R. hieroglyphica . Raoulserenea hieroglyphica has not yet been found in the coastal waters of South Africa.