Thoe puella Stimpson, 1860

Santana, Jessica Colavite Amanda Marie Windsor Isabela Ribeiro Rocha Moraes Michelle Mollemberg Laira Lianos Antônio Leão Castilho William, 2022, Molecular phylogeny of Thoe Bell, 1836 (Crustacea, Brachyura, Majoidea), Nauplius (e 2022030) 30, pp. 1-15 : 10-11

Thoe puella Stimpson, 1860

( Figure 2F )

Thoe puella Stimpson, 1860: 179 [type locality: Florida, Tortugas, type material: non-extant]. — A. Milne-Edwards, 1873: 122, pl. 19, 3-3e. — Rathbun, 1897: 11. — Rathbun, 1925: 348, pl. 125, fig. 1, 2. — Rodríguez, 1980: 277. — Ramos, 1986: 69, fig. 1. — Marcano and Bolaños, 2001: 76. — Ng et al., 2008: 120. — Windsor and Felder, 2014: 167. — García and Capote, 2015: 11, fig. 5i and 5j. — Carmona-Suarez and Poupin, 2016: 378 , fig. 8k.

Pisa latipes Desbonne , in Desbonne and Schramm, 1867: 19 [type locality: Guadeloupe, type material: non-extant].

Material Examined. 1 male ( MNHN IU 2013 4256), Guadeloupe, Karubenthos 2012 [lot JL489- 5], stn. GM09, depth 1 m, Poupin, J. det. ; 1 male, 1 ovigerous female ( MZUSP 33887 ), Panama, North of Boca del Drago, stn. 12, depth 0.5–2 m, in and under coral rubble, 01.v.2015, A. Anker col., 21.xii.2021, Colavite, J. det.

Diagnosis (as in Rathbun, 1925). Carapace margins perpendicular and nearly straight. Basal antennal articles not grooved. Margins of merus joints of ambulatory legs thin.

Habitat. Solid substrates and rubble. Found in rocky and coralline bottoms, reef corals, in shallow waters ( Garth, 1978; Carmona-Suarez and Poupin, 2016).

Type locality. Dry Tortugas, Florida, United States of America .

Distribution. South Florida, Bahamas, Belize, Cuba, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Curaçao, Bonaire and Saint Maarten, Dry Tortugas, Greater Antilles, Guadeloupe, Colombia, Venezuela ( Rathbun, 1897; 1901; Garth, 1958; Powers, 1977; Keith,1985; Castaño and Campos, 2003; García and Capote, 2015; Carmona-Suarez and Poupin, 2016; Diez and Espinosa, 2018).

Remarks. The type material of T.puella is probably lost, as are several other species described by Stimpson due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 ( Mayer, 1918).

Thoe puella and T. aspera , both western Atlantic species, can be easily distinguished by: (i) the basal article of antenna without spines in T. puella (vs. basal article of antenna with two distal spines in T. aspera , one visible in dorsal view); (ii) the carapace with sparse tubercles, branchial region well defined and laterally projected (vs. carapace with sparse spines and tubercles, branchial region less defined, with two distinct posterolateral spines); and (iii) rostral spines blunt in T. puella (vs. rostral spines acute, with a distinct V sinus in T. aspera ) ( Fig. 2A, B, F ). The color of each Thoe species and carapace characteristics usually match the background of their habitats, making them difficult to observe in situ. Each one has a unique color pattern that can be used as an informative character to distinguish each species in the field ( Fig. 2A, E, F ).

Color in life is beige with some darker spots that vary from pinkish to dark red.Chelipeds are vivid red.

Figures

Figure 2. A–D Thoe aspera Rathbun, 1901. A, B, Female, CL 7.5 mm, CW 6.78 mm, Brazil (LSZ 185). C, D, Male lectotype, CL 9.9 mm, CW 7.84 mm, Puerto Rico (USNM 23773). A, C, Habitus. B, D, Ventral view. E, Thoe erosa Bell, 1836, habitus, male, CL 8.6 mm,Panama (eastern Pacific) (ULLZ9738).F, Thoe puella Stimpson, 1860, habitus,male,CL 10 mm, CW 11 mm, Guadeloupe (MNHN IU 2013 4256). Credit of photos: E, D. Felder; F, J. Poupin. Scale bars: 0.5mm.