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| Munidopsis girguisi Rodríguez-Flores, Seid, Rouse & Giribet, 2023 DOI: 10.1071/IS22030 |
Abstract
Munidopsid squat lobsters are among the most abundant decapods at abyssal depths and the most diverse squat lobster group in the East Pacific region. During recent cruises along the East Pacific, many deep-sea squat lobsters were collected. Among these, we described five new munidopsid species supported both by morphological characters and molecular phylogenetics: Munidopsis girguisi sp. nov., M. nautilus sp. nov., M. testuda sp. nov., M. cortesi sp. nov. and M. hendrickxi sp. nov. We also report new records of several Munidopsis species across the East Pacific that increase the species distribution ranges. Here, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of the East Pacific species in relation to other Galatheoidea using one nuclear and two mitochondrial gene fragment(s); we also performed single locus species delimitation analyses to explore the species status of various East Pacific munidopsid taxa. The new taxa were photographed, illustrated and imaged with micro-computed tomography. The phylogenetic results show that: (1) Janetogalathea californiensis, previously included in the family Galatheidae, nests within Munidopsidae; (2) the phylogenetic position of Phylladiorhynchus and Coralliogalathea as belonging in Galatheidae is not supported; and (3) Munidopsis is paraphyletic, agreeing with recent systematic hypotheses. Short genetic distances and species delimitation analyses suggested that a clade mostly constituted by abyssal species might include fewer species than currently considered, as species show a wider geographic range than previously considered, conforming with traditional hypotheses of cosmopolitanisms in abyssal species.
Keywords: crustaceans, long-distance dispersal, microCT, mitochondrial genes, morphology, new species, species delimitation, taxonomy.
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| In situ images. (a, b) Munidopsis girguisi sp. nov., California, dive S0449, SCB-236 (SIO-BIC C14553). (c, d) Munidopsis hendrickxi sp. nov., California, Stn NA117-012-01-B-MCZ, holotype (MCZ IZ-153106). (e, f) Munidopsis similis Smith, 1885, Costa Rica, dive S0230 S3 (SIO-BIC C13964). (g–h) Costa Rica, dive S0213. (g) Munidopsis girguisi sp. nov. (SIO-BIC C13897). (h) Munidopsis cortesi sp. nov., holotype (MZUCR 3761-01). Photo credits: ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute (a, b, e–h) and Nautilus Live Ocean Exploration Trust (c, d). |
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| In situ image of Munidopsis girguisi sp. nov., California. |
Paula C. Rodríguez-Flores, Charlotte A. Seid, Greg W. Rouse and Gonzalo Giribet. 2023. Cosmopolitan Abyssal Lineages? A Systematic Study of East Pacific Deep-sea Squat Lobsters (Decapoda: Galatheoidea: Munidopsidae). Invertebrate Systematics. 37(1); 14-60. DOI: 10.1071/IS22030
https://phys.org/news/2023-01-discovery-deep-sea-squat-lobster-species.html
