Macropipus australis Guinot 1961

Macropipus australis Guinot, 1961

Elliptodactylus rugosus.—Barnard, 1950:817 [not Elliptodactylus rugosus Doflein, 1904 = Macropipus rugosus].

Portunus tuberculatus.—Capart, 1951:117, fig. 41 [part, specimens from Angola (Sta A.S. 110) and South-West Africa (Sta A.S. 108) only].—Barnard, 1954:123 [listed]; 1955:3 [listed]. [Not Portunus tuberculatus Roux, 1830 = Macropipus tuberculatus.]

Macropipus australis Guinot, 1961:5, figs. 1, 2, 5, pl. 1, pl. 2: fig. 1.—Crosnier, 1970:1216.

Macropipus sp.—Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962:44, 45, figs. 13–15, 24a,b, pl. 2: fig. 3, pl. 3: fig. 3.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Pillsbury Material: None.

Undaunted Material: Angola: Sta 94, 90 m, 1 (L). Sta 95, 126 m, 5, 6 (W). Sta 96, 162 m, 1 (L). Sta 103, 90 m, 20, 6 (L). Sta 104, 126 m, 1, 1 (L). Sta 105, 155 m, 3 (L).

South-West Africa: Sta 106, 225 m, 1 (L).

DESCRIPTION.—Capart, 1951:117; Guinot, 1961:5.

Figures: Capart, 1951, fig. 41; Guinot, 1961, figs. 2, 5, pl. 1, pl. 2: fig. 1; Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962, figs. 13–15, 24a,b, pl. 2: fig. 3, pl. 3: fig. 3.

Male Pleopod: Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962, fig 24a,b (South-West Africa).

Color: “Brick-red, under surface greyish; bright iridescent patches as follows: on antero-lateral margin between each pair of teeth, and a larger crescentic patch behind the last lateral tooth, in the smooth grooves between the regions of the carapace, anterior surface of the palp of mxp. 3, on the smooth distal portion of upper surface of arm of cheliped, the spine and other smooth areas on wrist, the smooth areas on upper surface of hand, and in the groove on upper margin of finger” (Barnard, 1950:818).

BIOLOGY.—Macropipus australis is a sublittoral species living on the outer shelf and upper slope in depths between 90 and 238 m. Of ten depth records available, two are from less than 100 m (both 90 m), five are from between 100 and 200 m (110, 126, 126, 155, and 162 m), and three are from depths greater than 200 m (220, 225, and 238 m). The only information on the nature of bottom on which the species has been found is given by Capart (1951); both of the lots he reported were taken on muddy sand in 110 and 220 m. Ovigerous females have not been collected.

DISTRIBUTION.—Off West Africa, from the coasts of Angola and South-West Africa, in depths between 90 and 238 m. Records in the literature include:

Angola: 16°27′S, 11°35′E, 90 m (Crosnier, 1970). 18 mi [29 km] WSW of Baía dos Tigres, 16°36′S, 11°27′E, 110 m (Capart, 1951; Guinot, 1961). 16°37′S, 11°22′E, 126 m; 16°41′S, 11°21′E, 162 m; 17°06′S, 11°35′E, 90 m; 17°09′S, 11°30′E, 126 m; 17°13′S, 11°27′E, 155 m (all Crosnier, 1970).

South-West Africa: 17°18′S, 11°24′E, 225 m (Crosnier, 1970). 52 mi [84 km] SxW Fort Rock Point, 19°52′S, 12°20′E, 220 m (Capart, 1951; Guinot, 1961). 26°36′S, 14°37′E, 130 fm (238 m) (Barnard, 1950; Guinot, 1961; Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962).

* Macropipus rugosus (Doflein, 1904)

Portunus sp.—Leach, 1818, in 1817–1818:413.—Monod, 1970:66.

Elliptodactylus rugosus Doflein, 1904:94, figs, 7, 8, pl. 30: figs. 1–3, pl. 32: fig. 7.

Portunus tuberculatus.—Capart, 1951:117 [part, not fig. 41, not specimens from A.S. 108, 110].—Monod, 1956:180, 632, figs. 207–209.—Rossignol, 1957:80, 123 [key].—Longhurst, 1958:87.—Rossignol, 1962:115.—Maurin, 1968b: 484, fig. 5.—Le Loeuff and Intès, 1968:44, table 1, figs. 49, 63. [Not Portunus tuberculatus Roux, 1830.]

Macropipus rugosus.—Guinot, 1961:2, 9, figs. 1, 4, 7, pl. 2: fig. 3 [synonymy].—Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962:32–34, 35, figs. 7–9, 17, 19, 20, 22a,b, pl. 2: fig. 1, pl. 3: fig. 1.—Crosnier, 1964:34.—Forest and Guinot, 1966:60.—Le Loeuff and Intès, 1969:63, 65.—Türkay, 1976a:25 [listed], 37.

Macropipus.—Voss, 1966:27.

Portunus.—Maurin, 1968b, fig. 4.

Portunus (Macropipus) tuberculatus.—Maurin, 1968b:486, 489, 491 [not Portunus tuberculatus Roux, 1830].

Macropipus tuberculatus.—Maurin, 1968b:491.—Bas, Arias and Guerra, 1976, table 3. [Not Portunus tuberculatus Roux, 1830.]

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—Pillsbury Material: Liberia: Sta 68, 70 m, broken shell, 3 juv (W). Sta 83, 156–220 m, 2 ov (L).

Ivory Coast: Sta 42, 62–75 m, mud with brown, branched Foraminifera, 1 juv (W). Sta 64, 68 m, 1 carapace (L). Sta 65, 46–49 m, 1 ov (dry) (L).

Ghana: Sta 23, 42 m, foliate brown to orange bryozoans, 2 (L). Sta 24, 35–37 m, dark red bryozoans, 1 (W).

Nigeria: Sta 241, 59–63 m, mud and shell, 5, 6, 9 juv (W).

Cameroon: Sta 259, 59 m, mud and broken shell, 9, 9 (L). Sta 260, 46 m, 1, 1 (L).

Geronimo Material: Gabon: Sta 202, 100 m, 36, 30 (W). Sta 211, 100 m, 3, 7 (W). Sta 213, 300 m, 1, 2 (W). Sta 228, 300 m, 1, 2 (W).

Other Material: Guinea-Bissau: 10°19′N, 16°34′W, 174 m, mud, sand, 16 May 1956, Calypso Sta 5, 1 (W).

Liberia: Off Monrovia, 400 m, 27 Apr 1964, Guinean Trawling Survey 14/8, 1 specimen (L).

Gulf of Guinea: Between Ghana and Sierra Leone, Feb and Apr 1964, Guinean Trawling Survey, 1 (L).

DESCRIPTION.—Guinot, 1961, table 1 (comparison with M. tuberculatus (Roux, 1830) and M. australis Guinot, 1961; Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962:37–42 (comparison with M. tuberculatus).

Figures: Monod, 1956, figs. 207–209.

Male Pleopod: Monod, 1956, fig. 209 (Senegal); Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962, fig. 22a,b (Guinea-Bissau).

Color: According to Capart (1951:118), this species is “gris-jaune avec taches roses, prenant unaspect nacré après fixation.” His color notes may have been based on M. australis, for part of his material is referable to that species (see p. 85).

MEASUREMENTS.—Our specimens have carapace widths of 8 to 39 mm; ovigerous females have carapace widths of 32 to 39 mm.

BIOLOGY.—Macropipus rugosus inhabits moderate depths and seems to prefer depths of less than 100 m; the shallowest record is of 5 m and the deepest is 400 m. 78% of the records for which depth is given are from depths of less than 100 m, and, in those depths, records are equally divided between those in 50 m or less and those in 51–100 m. All but two of the Pillsbury specimens came from depths of less than 100 m and the species was found on bottoms with bryozoans, Foraminifera, broken shell, and mud and shell or mud and broken shell. Guinot (1961:10) noted that “Son habitat le plus commun semble être le sable ou la vase.” Forest and Guinot (1966) reported it from mud, rocks and calcareous algae, mud, mud and sand or broken shell, mud and calcareous algae and shells, sand, and algae and calcareous algae. Maurin (1968b) found it on mud in 40–60 m, 60 m, on detrital mud in 50–90 and 200 m, on fine detrital muddy sand in 200–400 m, and on fluid mud with fine sand or mud and very muddy fine sand in 35–40 m.

Le Loeuff and Intès (1968:44) studied this species (as Portunus tuberculatus) off the Ivory Coast and commented:

La zone des 50 m constitue l'habitat privilégié de l'espèce qui accompagne cependant les eaux froides jusqu'à 35 m quand elles remontent le long du plateau continental en Mai, puis Août-Septembre-Octobre et même Janvier-Février. En fait P. tuberculatus vit dans des eaux bien déterminées (22°C–16°5C de température, 35,55%o à 35,75%o de salinité) qui, en Côte d'Ivoire correspondent à l'eau subtropicale. C'est sans doute, parmi tous les organismes benthiques littoraux de cette étude, l'espèce la plus sténotherme et la plus inféodée à une masse d'eau.

Türkay's (1976a) record of this species from off Morocco seems questionable to us, not only because it is from so far north (33°37.5′N) but also because of the relatively great depth, 952–1038 m, at which his material is supposed to have been collected. That depth is more than twice as great as the deepest record otherwise observed for this species.

Ovigerous females have been collected in June and September (Monod, 1956; Forest and Guinot, 1966; Pillsbury).

DISTRIBUTION.—Off West Africa, from Mauritania to Angola, in moderate depths, from 5 to 400 m. Monod (1956) identified this species with the Mediterranean M. tuberculatus (Roux) and reported material from Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. Guinot (1961) differentiated earlier records and provided synonymies for each of the three nominal species: M. australis, M. rugosus, and M. tuberculatus. Subsequent records include:

West Africa: Gulf of Guinea (Leach, 1818, in 1817–1818; Monod, 1970).

Morocco: 33°37.5′N, 09°02.2′W, 952–1038 m (?) (Türkay, 1976a).

Spanish Sahara: No specific locality (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962). Between Cabo Barbas and Cabo Blanco, 59–90 m; between Cabo Corbeiro and Cabo Blanco, 200 m (Maurin, 1968b). 25°37.5′N, 14°52′W to 25°39.2′N, 14°51.5′W, 72–78 m, and 24°06.3′N, 16°20.2′W to 24°06′N, 16°24.8′W, 61–68 m (Bas, Arias, and Guerra, 1976).

Mauritania: Banc d'Arguin, 40–60 and 90–100 m; off Tamzak (as Tamxat), 200–400 m (Maurin, 1968b).

Senegal: Off Saint-Louis, 35–40 m; off Mboro, 35–40 m (Maurin, 1968b). 13°01′N, 17°24′W, 51–55 m, and 12°55.5′N, 17°33′W, 65–75 m (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Forest and Guinot, 1966). SE of Île de la Madeleine, 48 m; S border, Fosse de Kayar, 300 m; off Cambérène, 50 m (all Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962).

Guinea-Bissau: 10°32′N, 16°53.5′W, 174 m, and 10°19′N, 16°34′W, 60–73 m (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Forest and Guinot, 1966).

Sierra Leone: No specific locality, 15–236 m (Longhurst, 1958).

Liberia: 04°59′N, 09°37′W, to 04°57.5′N, 09°33′W, 156–220 m (Voss, 1966).

Ivory Coast: No specific locality (Le Loeuff and Intès, 1969). Off Grand-Lahou, off Grand-Bassam, 35–100 m (Le Loeuff and Intès, 1968).

Cameroon: No specific locality, in more than 50 m (Crosnier, 1964).

Principe: 01°38′25″N, 07°22′05″E, 31 m (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Forest and Guinot, 1966).

São Tomé: 00°25′40″N, 06°40′10″E, 50 m (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Forest and Guinot, 1966).

Gabon: 00°38′25″S, 08°46′E, 5 m; 00°38′20″S, 08°48′-30″E, 35 m (Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962; Forest and Guinot, 1966). W of Pointe Panga, 70 m (Rossignol, 1962).

Congo: Off Pointe-Noire (Rossignol, 1957).

Zaire: 06°16′S, 12°07′E, 50 m; 06°28′S, 12°05′03″E (Guinot, 1961).

Angola: 10°S, 13°30′E, 60–70 m (Guinot, 1961). Baía Farta, Benguela, 90 m; Baía da Caota, Benguela, 13 m (both Guinot and Ribeiro, 1962).