Austinotheres angelicus (Lockington, 1877): the correct name for the symbiotic crab Juxtafabia muliniarum sensu Cabrera Pena et al. (2001) (Crustacea, Brachyura, Pinnotheridae)

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The taxonomic identity of the symbiotic crabs Juxtafabia muliniarum sensu Cabrera-Peña et al. (2001) was revised. The morphology of these specimens, collected in the estuary of Punta Morales, Pacific coast of Costa Rica, in the oyster Saccostrea palmula did not agree with J. muliniarum but concurs well with topotypes and voucher material of Austinotheres angelicus from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Austinotheres angelicus belongs to the subfamily Pinnotherinae sensu Campos, 2009, and the morphology of A. angelicus supports its close relationship with Bonita mexicana and Enigmatheres canfieldi. The presence of a soft and thin carapace colored with deep chocolate brown with dark purple tones, a conspicuous protuberance in the basal antennal article, a third maxilliped with an ischio-merus fused with its inner margin angled, a carpus larger than the propodus, and a digitiform and small dactylus subdistally inserting on the ventral margin of the propodus are diagnostic features for A. angelicus. These characteristics separate this species from other pinnotherid crabs from the entire Pacific Ocean. Keywords: Juxtafabia muliniarum, taxonomy, Pinnotheridae, Brachyura, Crustacea. RESUMEN. Se revisó la identidad taxonómica del cangrejo simbionte Juxtafabia muliniarum sensu CabreraPeña et al. (2001). La morfología de los especímenes recolectados en el estuario de Punta Morales, costa Pacífica de Costa Rica, en el ostión Saccostrea palmula no concordaron con J. muliniarum pero concurren bien con topotipos y material verificado de Austinotheres angelicus del Golfo de California, México. Austinotheres angelicus pertenece a la subfamilia Pinnotherinae sensu Campos, 2009 y su morfología apoya su cercana relación con Bonita mexicana y Enigmatheres canfieldi. La presencia de un caparazón blando y delgado, de color chocolate intenso con tonos purpura oscuros, una conspicua protuberancia en el artejo basal de la antena, un tercer maxilipedio con el isquio-merus fusionado con su margen interno angulado, un carpus más grande que el propodus y el pequeño dáctilo digitiforme que se inserta sobre el margen ventral del propodus son características diagnosticas para A. angelicus. Estas características separan a esta especie de otros pinotéridos del océano Pacífico. Austinotheres angelicus (Lockington

Reproductive traits of the symbiotic pea crab Austinotheres angelicus (Crustacea, Pinnotheridae) living in Saccostrea palmula (Bivalvia, Ostreidae), Pacific coast of Costa Rica

“…Cabrera Peña et al (2001) studied the size composition and fecundity of Juxtafabia muliniarum (Rathbun, 1918) in the Pacific of Costa Rica; however, according to Campos and Vargas-Castillo (2014) they confused the species with Austinotheres angelicus . Regarding reproductive traits, Cabrera Peña et al (2001) provided only average embryo numbers and stated that ovigerous females of this pea crab species were present throughout the study period (May 1998 to May 1999).…”

Living with a crab: effect of Austinotheres angelicus (Brachyura, Pinnotheridae) infestation on the condition of Saccostrea palmula (Ostreoida, Ostreidae)

“…The species is distributed along the Eastern Tropical Pacific, from the Gulf of California, Mexico, to the Colombian coast, and can be found up to 200 m in depth (Lemaitre and Alvarez León, 1992). So far, this pinnotherid crab has been observed as a symbiont of bivalves in the Ostrea, Myrakeena and Saccostrea genera (Campos, 2002;Campos and Vargas-Castillo, 2014;Salas-Moya et al, 2014). Different aspects of the ecology of the species have been studied by Cabrera Peña et al (2011a, b) and Salas-Moya et al (2014).…”

A new species of Austinixa Heard and Manning 1997 (Decapoda: Pinnotheridae) and new records of A. felipensis (Glassell, 1935) from the Mexican Pacific

“…It seems that the low number of pinnotherid species known from the Pacific coast could be due to low numbers of studies on these infaunal crustaceans. This Atlantic/Pacific coast difference has been gradually decreasing and studies on pinnotherids and other infaunal species, specifically Pacific coast ones, have progressively increased and the knowledge of new species, species hosts or their distributions have also been augmented (e.g., Zmarzly, 1992;Thoma et al, 2005;Campos and Vargas-Castillo 2014;Salgado-Barragán, 2015;Campos, 2016;Salgado-Barragán et al, 2018;Palacios Theil and Felder, 2020a;2020b). The current work refers to two species of pinnotherid crabs of the genus Austinixa collected in a series of samplings in four locations on the Pacific coast of Mexico.…”