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| Pinnotheres bicristatus García Raso & Cuesta
in Cuesta, García Raso, Abelló, et al, 2019.
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Abstract
After the recent detection, by both morphology and DNA barcodes, of the larval stages of an unknown species of pea crab (Pinnotheres sp.) in European waters, adults of this crab are herein reported and described as a new species. The current known geographic distribution of the species comprises the Gulf of Cádiz in the eastern Atlantic and the adjacent Mediterranean waters of the south of the Iberian Peninsula (Alboran Sea), where this crab is well-established inside the anomiid bivalve Anomia ephippium. In the Gulf of Cádiz, the species displayed a relatively high prevalence: on average, 55.6–77.7%, in A. ephippium samples. The dominant demographic categories of the new species were soft females (61.8–77.0%) with fewer males (17.7–21.10%). Most of the host bivalves carried only one crab; in bivalves harbouring two crabs, heterosexual pairs were collected more frequently than expected by chance, which suggests that they could be mated pairs. A strong correlation between host size and soft female size was found (r = 0.73, P < 0.01) indicating that space availability within hosts seems to be relevant in determining the size of the sedentary phase of the new crab species.
Keywords: Anomia ephippium; Brachyura; distribution;
DNA barcoding; European waters; new species;
Pinnotheres bicristatus
Systematic
Order DECAPODA Latreille, 1802
Infraorder BRACHYURA Latreille, 1802
Family PINNOTHERIDAE De Haan, 1833
Genus Pinnotheres Bosc, 1801
Pinnotheres bicristatus sp. nov. García Raso & Cuesta
Etymology: The specific name bicristatus is an adjective (gender masculine as Pinnotheres) referring to the two ‘crests’ or
dense tufts of setae located dorsoanterolaterally on the carapace
of males and hard females.
Jose A. Cuesta, J. E. García Raso, Pere Abelló, Elena Marco-Herrero, Luis Silva and Pilar Drake. 2019. A New Species of Pea Crab from south-western Europe (Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura): Species Description, Geographic Distribution and Population Structure with An Identification Key to European Pinnotheridae. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. First View. DOI: 10.1017/S0025315419000018
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