Notes on the genera Plesionika and Heterocarpus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Pandalidae) from off western Mexico, eastern Pacific
Pandalid shrimps are considered of great ecological and fishery values. They are often very abundant in deep water where they belong to either the pelagic, the bathypelagic or the benthic communities. Exploration surveys were organized between 1989 and 2014 off western Mexico in the eastern Pacific. Samples of deep-water caridean shrimps were obtained with a 2.35m-wide benthic sledge. A large series of specimens of Plesionika sanctaecatalinae was obtained during sampling operations off the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula in 2012 and 2014 (TALUD cruises). This material is examined and compared to the original description, the holotype and two paratypes. Although the fresh material fit well with the type material examined, some discrepancies are noted in the illustrations of the original description, particularly regarding scaphocerite and the telson, and new illustrations are provided. The series of sample available from the TALUD cruises allow to increase considerably the number of localities known for this species in the California Current area. A series of unpublished records corresponding to material examined in the original description but not listed in details, allows for further increase of the number of reported localities where P. sanctaecatalinae has been collected. It is now know from a wide fringe parallel to the coast line as far as 450 km and as close as 40 km offshore. Its vertical distribution in the water column, however, remains unclear due to the fact that no discrete samples are available for this species. Plesionika sanctaecatalinae is another species of the genus featuring tegumental scales on a large section of its carapace. Four species of Heterocarpus have been recorded in the eastern Pacific: H. affinis Faxon, 1893 (southern Gulf of California to Chimbote, Peru), H. hostilis Faxon, 1893 (from Panama to Supe, Peru), H. reedi Bahamonde, 1957 (off Chile) and H. vicarius Faxon, 1893 (central Gulf of California to Mollendo, Peru). Based on sampled obtained from a depth range of 890-1095 m from off the west coast of Mexico, H. hostilis is now reported northward to the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, thus increasing its distribution range by 16 degrees to the north. First records from off this peninsula are also obtained for H. affinis, between 750 and 1036 m depth. A third species, "Heterocarpus" sp. (750-850 m depth), is reported from the same area. Among its characteristics are: the lack of a ventrolateral carina on the carapace, the presence of 4 dorsal teeth on the rostrum posterior to the orbit, and the lack of posterodorsal spines on abdominal somites. Although in general aspect it resembles H. vicarius, the lack of lateroventral carina set it apart from this species. It could represent a new record of H. nesisi Burukovsky, 1986, a poorly described species reported from a locality about 1,500 km SW of the Baja California Peninsula (13º34'N, 120º30'W) at 800 m depth, and considered to belong to the genus Plesionika.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements. Ship time aboard the R/V "El Puma" was provided by the Coordinación de la Investigación Científica, UNAM (TALUD XII to XVI-B), and partly supported by CONACyT (project 179467 for the TALUD XV and XVI-B cruises). The TALUD project has received laboratory support from the DGAPA (PAPIIT IN-217306-3 and PAPIIT IN-203013-2) and from CONACyT (Project 179467 for the TALUD XV and XVI-B cruises), Mexico.
Keywords:
western Mexico,
minimum oxygen zone,
Deep-water,
Shrimps,
Pandalidae,
Plesionika,
Heterocarpus,
distribution
Conference:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies, Porto, Portugal, 5 Sep - 9 Sep, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
1. ECOLOGY, BIODIVERSITY AND VULNERABLE ECOSYSTEMS
Citation:
Hendrickx
ME
(2016). Notes on the genera Plesionika and Heterocarpus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea: Pandalidae) from off western Mexico, eastern Pacific.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XIX Iberian Symposium on Marine Biology Studies.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.05.00122
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Received:
28 Apr 2016;
Published Online:
03 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Michel E Hendrickx, UNAM, ICML, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, 82000, Mexico, michel@ola.icmyl.unam.mx