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| Caprella nojimaensis Takeuchi, Shiraishi & Mimori, 2021 |
Abstract
Caprella nojimaensis sp. nov. (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae), inhabiting the gorgonian Calcigorgia gracilis Matsumoto, van Ofwegen, and Bayer, 2019, is described based on a specimen from 1497 m depth in the Nojima Submarine Canyon, off Boso Peninsula, central Japan. The species is closely related to C. gracillima Mayer, 1890, but differs from the latter in gnathopod 2 being positioned near the anterior margin of pereonite 2 and in the presence of paired small mid-dorsal projections on pereonites 2 and 5. The body colour of live material is pale pink, with mouth parts and gnathopod 2 fringed with darker pink, revealing protective colouration that matches that of the host gorgonian. The clinging behaviour in situ is “upright” as recorded by the remotely operated vehicle Hyper-Dolphin, and the presence of dense swimming setae on antenna 2 suggests that the caprellid feeds by filtering material suspended in the bathyal zone.
Keywords: Amphipoda, bathyal depth, Caprella, new species, off Boso Peninsula, protective colouration
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| Caprella nojimaensis sp. nov., holotype, mature female, 20.69 mm body length, NSMT-Cr 29015, photographed at the cold laboratory of Tokyo Sea Life Park (Edogawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan). |
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| Four individuals of Caprella nojimaensis sp. nov. (red arrows) attached to the gorgonian and on rock and surrounding sediment at around 1500 m depth in the Nojima Submarine Canyon, off Boso Peninsula, central Japan. |
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| Caprella nojimaensis sp. nov. (yellow arrow), holotype, mature female, 20.69 mm body length, NSMT-Cr 29015, attached to the gorgonian Calcigorgia gracilis Matsumoto, van Ofwegen, and Bayer, 2019 at 1497 m depth; Nojima Submarine Canyon, off Boso Peninsula, central Japan. |
Order Amphipoda Latreille, 1816
Family Caprellidae Leach, 1814
Genus Caprella Lamarck, 1801
Caprella nojimaensis sp.nov.
Etymology. The specific name nojimaensis is derived from the name of the collection site of the new species, Nojima Submarine Canyon.
Ichiro Takeuchi, Momoko Shiraishi and Ryosuke Mimori. 2021. A New Species of the Genus Caprella (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Caprellidae) Collected from a Gorgonian at 1497 m Depth off Boso Peninsula, Central Japan. Species Diversity. 26(2); 225-233. DOI: 10.12782/specdiv.26.225
