Paralomis webberi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Paralomis webberi | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Malacostraca |
| Order: | Decapoda |
| Suborder: | Pleocyemata |
| Infraorder: | Anomura |
| Family: | Lithodidae |
| Genus: | Paralomis |
| Species: | P. webberi |
| Binomial name | |
| Paralomis webberi Ahyong, 2010 | |
Paralomis webberi is a species of king crab in the genus Paralomis. It is known from one specimen found off the coast of New Zealand.[2]
Paralomis webberi is known only from a single, egg-carrying ("ovigerous") adult female holotype as of 2010[update].[2] Its colour in life is not known.[2] It has a pyriform carapace which, in the holotype, is 33.6 mm (1.32 in) long[a] and 29.2 mm (1.15 in) wide.[2] Its rostrum is 7.4 mm (0.29 in) long, consisting of two median spines and a pair of outward-diverging spines, all angled obliquely upward, and nine spinules on an angular lobe underneath.[2] The major cheliped is 1.31 times the carapace length and the minor cheliped 1.26 times.[2] The first pair of walking legs are the longest at 1.33 times the carapace length.[2]
The dorsal carapace, abdomen, chelipeds, and walking legs are all densely covered in slender spines.[2] The carapace is uniformly covered in spines of similar size, while those on the abdomen become progressively shorter toward the anterior – eventually shrinking to blunt, setose tubercles on the semicircular telson.[2] The coxae of the chelipeds and walking legs are unarmed, and the chelae and dactyli feature spines proximally but tufts of golden setae distally.[2] The other segments of the chelipeds are spinose except the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the ischiobasis and the inner ("mesial") surface of the merus; the other segments of the walking legs are spinose except the ventral surface of the merus.[2]
Distribution
As of 2010[update], only one Paralomis webberi specimen has been identified.[2] It was trawled in September 1998 from the Rumble III Seamount northeast of New Zealand between a depth of 632–1,255 m (2,073–4,117 ft).[2] It is unknown if the specimen was taken from one of the seamount's active hydrothermal vent sites.[2] Due to insufficient data, P. webberi's conservation status is unknown.[1]
Taxonomy
Paralomis webberi was described by carcinologist Shane T. Ahyong in 2010 and is named for Rick Webber of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[2] The holotype, an adult female preserved in Te Papa, was found on the Rumble III Seamount in 1998.[2] It closely resembles P. echidna, with only subtle distinctions.[2]
