Description of a new species of Pinnotheres, and redescription of P. novaezelandiae (Brachyura: Pinnotheridae)

Abstract

Abstract Pinnotheres novaezelandiae Filhol, a common associate of the green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus (Gmelin), is redescribed and a lectotype is designated. Pinnotheres schauinslandi Lenz is considered to be a junior synonym of P. novaezelandiae. A new species, Pinnotheres atrinicola, is described from the horse mussel, Atrina zelandica (Gray). The 2 species are morphologically very similar; differences are most evident in the hard-stage male. In male hard-stage P. novaezelandiae the first pleopod is stout, bladelike, slightly curved, and densely setose, whereas in P. atrinicola it is slender, strongly curved, and sparsely setose. In mature female P. novaezelandiae the legs of both sides are similar in length, whereas P. atrinicola females have noticeably asymmetric legs. The first-stage zoea larvae of the 2 species are very similar, differing slightly in size and chromatophore pattern. Both species are endemic, and are the only known representatives of the family Pinnotheridae in New Zealand.