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Helgol Mar Res (2014) 68:155168 DOI 10.1007/s10152-013-0376-x
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
New ndings and a new species of the genus Ammothea (Pycnogonida, Ammotheidae), with an updated identication key to all Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species
E. Cano-Snchez P. J. Lpez-Gonzlez
Received: 4 September 2013 / Revised: 28 November 2013 / Accepted: 2 December 2013 / Published online: 17 January 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and AWI 2014
Abstract Specimens of the pycnogonid genus Ammothea collected during the Polarstern cruise XXIII/8 (23 November 200630 January 2007) were studied. Nine species were recognized in this collection: Ammothea bentartica, A. bicorniculata, A. carolinensis, A. clausi, A. longispina, A. minor, A. spinosa, A. striata and A. tibialis. Three of them (A. bentartica, A. bicorniculata and A. tibialis) are reported for the second time, enlarging their known geographical and bathymetric range. In the present contribution, the observed morphological variability of all collected Ammothea species is described and discussed. For the identication and description of the material, different museum specimens were consulted. Among them, we have consulted part of the Discovery collection housed at the Natural History Museum in London. That material was initially identied by Isabella Gordon, a reputed author in the eld of pycnogonid taxonomy. A new species, based on a museum specimen previously highly confused in the literature, is proposed in the present contribution as Ammothea isabellae n. sp. The new taxon is compared with its closest congeners, especially with A. longispina and A. stylirostris. Finally, we propose an updated dichotomous key to species covering all currently known Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Ammothea species.
Keywords Antarctica Subantarctica Sea spider
Ammothea species Key to species
Introduction
The Antarctic marine fauna has been intensively studied during recent decades, and it has been established that the Antarctic continental shelf shelters one of the richest benthic faunas in the oceans of the world (Arntz et al. 1994). Pycnogonids are an important component of this fauna and have intensively studied.
The pycnogonid family Ammotheidae is one of the best represented in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters, with Ammothea Leach 1814 being the best represented genus, currently including about 30 Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species among the 41 recognized species in the genus (Munilla and Soler-Membrives 2009; Cano and Lpez-Gonzlez 2013).
The most recent reports on the Ammotheidae from Antarctic and...