Sphaerodromia kendalli

Padate Sherine Sonia Cubelio Masatsune Takeda, Vinay P., 2021, Rare deep-water crabs (Crustacea: Decapoda) from Indian waters, with description of one new species, Nauplius (e 2021034) 29, pp. 1-21 : 3

Sphaerodromia kendalli

( Alcock and Anderson, 1894)

( Figs. 2A–C , 3 )

Dromidia kendalli Alcock and Anderson, 1894: 175 (type locality: off Nellore coast, Bay of Bengal, 14°5’55”N 80°25’20”E). — Alcock and Anderson, 1896: pl. 24,fig. 1, 1a.— Guinot and Tavares, 2003: 102, 108. — Ng et al., 2008: 36 (list).

Sphaerodromia kendalli — Alcock, 1900a: 153. — Alcock, 1901: 39, 78, pl. 4, fig, 18, 18a. — Ihle, 1913:92 (list). — Balss, 1922: 106. — Sakai, 1936: 15. — Sakai, 1976: 28, fig. 16. — McLay, 1991: 465 (discussion), table 1 (comparison). — McLay and Crosnier, 1991: 185–186 (discussion). — McLay, 1993: 125 (list), 126, 127 (key), 127, figs. 2a–i, 15a. — McLay, 2001: 821 (key), tab. 1. — Guinot and Tavares, 2003: 105. — Ng et al., 2008: 36 (list). — Trivedi et al., 2018: 36 (tab. 1).

Dromia (Sphaerodromia) kendalli — Alcock, 1899a: 5 (list), 16.

Material examined. 3 males (CL 37.8 mm, CW 43.4 mm; CL 38.6 mm, CW 45.4 mm; CL 43.1 mm, CW 48.6 mm) ( IO /SS/ BRC/00294 ), southwest Bay of Bengal , FORVSS stn. 27911, 13.22°N 80.51°E, 307 m, coll. Dr. R . Raghu Prakash, HSDT ( CV), 29 August 2010 .

Remarks. Sphaerodromia kendalli was originally described from a female (18 × 19 mm) from the western Bay of Bengal at 205 m depth ( Alcock and Anderson, 1896, pl. 24 fig. 1, 1a). The original published account ( Alcock and Anderson, 1894) and the subsequent publications ( Alcock, 1900a; 1901; Sakai, 1936; 1976) provided short descriptions of the Indian and Japanese specimens. McLay’s review (1993) of the family Dromiidae included a detailed re-description of the material collected from the Philippines (MUSORSTOM 3 expedition) and Indonesia (KARUBAR expedition) supplemented with illustrations of the Philippine material ( McLay, 1993: figs. 2a–i, 15a).

The present specimens collected from approximately 100 km south of the type locality agree largely with the description of the type specimens as well as subsequent reports, with the exception of a slightly wider carapace, CW/CL 1.13–1.18 ( Fig. 2A, B ) (vs. 0.97 in the Indonesian male ( McLay, 1993); female specimens — 1.06 (holotype) ( Alcock and Anderson, 1894), 1.13 ( Japan) ( Balss, 1922), and 1.02 ( Philippines) ( McLay, 1993)), the absence of granules on the subhepatic region( Fig. 2C ) (vs. granules present in the holotype, and the Philippine material ( McLay, 1993)), the relatively longer chelipeds, 1.74 times CL (vs. 1.33 times CL in the holotype female ( Alcock, 1901)).The above differences in the present specimens as compared to the type material could be attributed to the comparatively larger size of the present material.

Distribution. Bay of Bengal at 205–307 m depth ( Alcock and Anderson, 1894; Alcock, 1900a; 1901; present study), Japan ( Balss, 1922; Sakai, 1936; 1976), Philippines, Southeast Molucca Islands, Indonesia at 205–214 m depth ( McLay, 1993).

Figures

Figure 2. A–C, Sphaerodromia kendalli (Alcock and Anderson, 1894), male (CL 38.6 mm, CW 45.4 mm) (IO/SS/BRC/00294), southwest Bay of Bengal, India. D,E, Sphaerodromia nux Alcock, 1899, male (CL 29.3 mm, CW 33.1 mm) (IO/SS/BRC/00295), Bayof Bengal west of South Andaman Island, India.A, D, dorsalhabitus; B,E, denuded dorsalcarapace; C, denuded lateral carapace. Scale bars: 10 mm.

Figure 3. Sphaerodromia kendalli (Alcock and Anderson, 1894). A–N,P, male (CL 38.6 mm,CW 45.4 mm) (IO/SS/BRC/00294), southwest Bay of Bengal, India. A, Antennule, ventral view; B, antenna, ventral view; C, third maxilliped, ventral view; D, cheliped epipod and arthrobranch, lateralview; E, right chela and carpus, outer view; F,G, P2–P3 dactyli,dorsal view; H, I, P4–P5 subchela, dorsal view; J, thoracic sternum in ventral view indicating the position of the gonopods; K, L, G1 dorsal and ventral views; M, N, G2 dorsal and ventral views; P, male telson, ventral view. O, male (CL 43.1 mm, CW 48.6 mm) (IO/SS/BRC/00294), southwest Bay of Bengal, India, posterior pleonal somites 3–5 and telson in dorsal view indicating the form and position of vestigial pleopods. Scale bars: E–G, J = 10 mm, A–C, K–N, P = 5 mm, D, O = 2 mm, H–I = 1 mm.