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MILNE EDWARDS,
1834, AND DESIGNATION OF A NEOTYPE FOR ACANTHONYX SIMPLEX
DANA, 1852 (BRACHYURA, MAJIDAE)
BY
ESTEBAN J. M. EMPARANZA1,3 ), GUILLERMO L. GUZMN1 ) and PETER K. L. NG2 )
1 ) Museo del Mar, Departamento de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Arturo Prat, Casilla 121,
Iquique, Chile
2 ) Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge, Singapore
119260, Republic of Singapore
ABSTRACT
The identity of the problematic spider crab species, Acanthonyx simplex Dana, 1852, originally
described from Hawaii and never reported since, is resolved. It is here shown to be identical to
Acanthonyx petiverii H. Milne Edwards, 1834, a species that is widely distributed on both sides
of the American continent. The supposed type locality of Acanthonyx simplex is almost certainly
wrong. Acanthonyx petiverii, nevertheless, is a highly variable species and, as such, is redescribed
in detail. To ensure a stable taxonomy for these species and the genus, a neotype for A. simplex is
designated.
RESUMEN
La problemtica identidad de la especie de cangrejo araa Acanthonyx simplex Dana, 1852,
originalmente descrita para las costas de Hawai y nunca estudiada desde entonces, ha sido
determinada. Aqu se demuestra que es idntica a Acanthonyx petiverii Milne Edwards, 1834,
especie que se distribuye en ambas costas del continente Americano. La supuesta localidad tipo
de Acanthonyx simplex es, casi con certeza, un dato errneo. Acanthonyx petiverii, no obstante, es
una especie altamente variable morfolgicamente y, en consecuencia, se redescribe en detalle. Para
estabilizar la taxonoma, se designa un neotipo para la especie A. simplex.
INTRODUCTION
534
TABLE I
List of the known species of Acanthonyx
Current name
Original genus
assigned
Subjective synonyms
Acanthonyx consobrinus
A. Milne-Edwards, 1862
Acanthonyx dentatus
H. Milne Edwards, 1834
Acanthonyx depressifrons
Manning & Holthuis, 1981
Acanthonyx dissimulatus Coelho, 1993
Acanthonyx elongatus Miers, 187?
Acanthonyx euryseroche
Griffin & Tranter, 1986
Acanthonyx formosa
Wu, Yu & Ng, 1999
Acanthonyx inglei
Tirmizi & Kazmi, 1988
Acanthonyx limbatus
A. Milne-Edwards, 1862
Acanthonyx lunulatus (Risso, 1816)
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Maia
Acanthonyx minor
Manning & Holthuis, 1981
Acanthonyx nodulosa (Dana, 1852)
Acanthonyx petiverii
H. Milne Edwards, 1834
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx quadridentatus
Krauss, 1843
Acanthonyx sanctaehelenae
Chace, 1966
Acanthonyx scutellatus MacLeay, 1838
Acanthonyx undulatus Barnard, 1947
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Acanthonyx
Peltinia
Ocean, there are only three known species, viz., A. petiverii H. Milne Edwards,
1834, A. simplex Dana, 1852, and A. formosa Wu, Yu & Ng, 1999 (cf. Dana,
1852; Manning & Holthuis, 1981; Griffin & Tranter, 1986; Wu et al., 1999).
Acanthonyx simplex was described from one specimen, supposedly originating
535
from Hawaii (Dana, 1852) and has never been recorded since its description
(Griffin & Tranter, 1986; Wu et al., 1999). Acanthonyx petiverii, on the other
hand, has been widely recorded in the Pacific from Baja California, Mexico, to
Valparaso, Chile, including Revillagigedo and the Galpagos Islands; and in the
Atlantic, from Miami, Florida, to Ro de Janeiro, Brazil (Garth, 1957, 1958, 1992;
Chirichigno, 1970; Wilson, 1987; Hendrickx, 1992; Retamal, 1994). The recently
described A. formosa is thus far only known from Taiwan (Wu et al., 1999).
During a study being carried out on the shallow water crabs of northern Chile,
examination of specimens of A. petiverii collected from different intertidal and
shallow water zones revealed considerable morphological variability, as had been
observed earlier by Garth (1958) and Chace (1966) with regard to the presence
or absence of tufts of setae on the carapace and legs, and also in the colour of
the carapace, since that depends on the colour of the host algae, be these green,
brown, or red (Wilson & Baeza, 1984; Wilson, 1987). Despite the fact that this
crab is found on both sides of the American continent (Rathbun, 1910), there are no
obvious characters that can be used to separate the Pacific and Atlantic populations
(Garth, 1958; Hendrickx, 1992) and, as such, these must be regarded as conspecific
for the time being.
Our comparisons of A. petiverii with the poorly known A. simplex Dana, 1852,
originally described from Hawaii, led us to the realization that these two taxa are in
fact conspecific, and that the type locality of the latter species was almost certainly
a mistake. In order to stabilize the taxonomy of these species, a neotype from
Chile is here designated for A. simplex. The neotype is described and A. petiverii
is recharacterized on the basis of the present material.
The following abbreviations are used: MNHNCL, Museo Nacional de Historia
Natural, Santiago, Chile; cl, total carapace length.
TAXONOMY
536
537
Peltinia scutiformis Dana, 1851: 273; 1852: 130; 1855, pl. 5 fig. 7a-c; type locality, Ro de
Janeiro; type not extant. Smith, 1869: 33.
Acanthonyx simplex Dana, 1852: 126; pl. 5 fig. 4a-d; type locality, Sandwich Islands; type not
extant.
Acanthonyx concamerata Kinahan, 1857: 334, pl. 14 fig. 1; type locality, North Chinchas Islands,
Peru; type in Royal Dublin Society Museum.
Acanthonyx petiveri Stimpson, 1871: 97. A. Milne-Edwards, 1878: 143 and synonymy. Garth,
1957: 22; 1958: 223.
Pugettia scultiformis Miers, 1886: 40, footnote. Moreira, 1901: 65, 138; 1920: 126. Lenz &
Strunck, 1914: 276, pl. 12 figs. 5-7.
538
539
540
more northerly region of Hawaii. We believe that the supposed type locality of
A. simplex, i.e., Hawaii, is erroneous, and the result of a mistake in labelling.
Considering that the specimens available to Dana came from all over the Pacific,
this mistake is quite possible and not too surprising. This is especially true, since
Dana himself had material from Chile. In fact, one of the species now considered
a synonym of A. petiverii, viz., Acanthonyx debilis Dana, 1851, was actually
described from Valparaso, Chile.
In view of the taxonomic problems that have been caused by A. simplex Dana,
1852, we believe a neotype should be designated to reflect our contention that
it is in fact a junior synonym of A. petiverii H. Milne Edwards, 1834, and that
its supposed type locality is wrong. As we have material at hand from Chile that
matches Danas (1852) description and figures of A. simplex very well, and we are
certain they are conspecific, we believe that selecting one of these as a neotype for
the species will stabilize the taxonomy of the species and facilitate future studies
of A. petiverii and related congeners. To this effect, we hereby select a recently
collected ovigerous female specimen (22.8 mm cl) from Chile as the neotype of A.
simplex Dana, 1852. This specimen is deposited in MNHNCL.
Male A. petiverii specimens from the southeastern Pacific have two abdominal
segments clearly fused and immovable, as has also been documented by Chace
(1966) for A. sanctaehelenae Chace, 1966 and by Wu et al. (1999) for A. formosa.
In the A. petiverii specimens examined, the male abdominal somites 3 and 4
were not fused. In the specimens of A. lunulatus Risso, 1816 examined by Chace
(1966), he reported that there was not always [a] completely functional suture
between abdominal somites 3 and 4. As for A. formosa, Wu et al. (1999) noted that
somites 3 to 5 were always fused and immovable, although the sutures between
them were still distinct. Griffin & Tranter (1986) stated that all the Atlantic
species of Acanthonyx have the two abdominal segments clearly fused, but in
the four Indian Ocean species examined by these authors, the sutures were often
indistinct.
In his work on the decapod crustaceans of St. Helena Island (South Atlantic),
Chace (1966) included drawings of A. sanctaehelenae, A. lunulatus, and A.
petiverii. His drawings of A. petiverii specimens showed median tubercles on the
gastric and cardiac regions. No tubercles were observed in these carapace regions
for the specimens of A. petiverii examined in the present study, and this could be
just a feature of the A. petiverii specimens inhabiting Martinique and the Virgin
Islands, the localities where Chaces specimens were taken from. Whether the two
populations are actually conspecific will need to be re-examined before anything
else can be said.
541
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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