Nebalia borealis Dahl, 1985

McCormack, Edward & Ashelby and David McGrath, Christopher W., 2016, A review of the Leptostraca of the British Isles with discussion of the genus Sarsinebalia Dahl, Nauplius (e 2016006) 24, pp. 1-19 : 9

Nebalia borealis Dahl, 1985

Material examined. North Sea. 1 specimen, Clipper Field , 53°23.071’N 001°47.078’E, 25.9 m,muddy sand, 7.ii.2009 ( OUMNH. ZC.2016-01-006, 1 specimen) . 1 specimen, Clipper Field , 53°22.121’N 001°46.887’E, 27.1 m, muddy sand, 5.ii.2009 . Scotland. 1 specimen, St. Abbs , 56°03.440’N 002°07.270’W, 56 m, 30.vi.1987 [specimen previously cited by O’Reilly et al. (2001) as N. herbstii ]. England. 1♂, eastern English Channel , 50°43.0174’N 0°31.0028’W, 14.7 m, muddy sandy gravel and pebbles, 15.vii.2015 . 1 specimen, eastern English Channel , 50°21.968’N 000°12.759’E, 45 m, sandy gravel, 31.vii.2014 . 11 specimens, eastern English Channel , 50°23.835’N 000°19.243’E, 48.1 m, sandy gravel, 31.vii.2014 . 1 specimen, eastern English Channel , 50°25.786’N 000°18.418’E, 54.1 m, sandy gravel, 7.viii.2014 .

British and Irish Distribution. Shetland Islands ( Dahl, 1985); North Sea, St. Abbs, Scotland, English Channel (present study) ( Fig. 2A ).

Distribution beyond the study area. Norway, Sweden

( Dahl, 1985).

Ecology. Clay, muddy sands to sandy gravels and rocky bottoms at depths of 14 m to 350 m.

Remarks. The specimens examined here agree well with Dahl’s description of the species. One of the specimens cited under the name N. herbstii by O’Reilly et al. (2001), with the caveat that only specimens for

1989 had been confirmed, was re-examined here and found to be N. borealis . This species has a northern distribution and the present records extend the southern range of the species southwards in the British Isles to the central English Channel.

Figures

Figure 2. Distribution of Leptostraca in the British Isles: (A) Nebalia borealis Dahl, 1985; (B) Sarsinebalia urgorrii Moreira, Gestoso and Troncoso,2003;(C)Sarsinebalia typhlops(G.O.Sars,1870); (D) Nebaliella cabotiClark,1932 (denoted by blue circles); Nebaliopsis typica G.O. Sars, 1887 (red diamonds).