NAUSHONIA LACTOALBIDA, NEW SPECIES (DECAPODA: THALASSINIDEA: LAOMEDIIDAE), A MUD SHRIMP FROM INHACA ISLAND, MOÇAMBIQUE

Abstract

A new species of the rare burrowing mud shrimp genus Naushonia has been found at Inhaca Island, in southern Mozambique. This is the sixth species in the genus, the first one found in the southern hemisphere and the second one found in the Indian Ocean. It was obtained from the entrance of its burrow in low water on a tidal flat. The species of the genus Naushonia have a confusing systematic history. Perhaps be­ cause of the subchelate first pereiopods and simple second pereiopods, de Man (1920) incorporated Naushonia crangonoides Kingsley, 1897, and Coralliocrangon perrieri Nobili, 1904, in the Crangonidae. Al­ though the "linea thalassinica" was pointed out as a similarity between the two genera, no comments were made about the trans­ verse suture of the uropods, which was used in the description of the family Laomediidae (see de Man, 1928). The reptant ap­ pearance with stiff antennae, a short and broad rostrum, and an unfortunate loss of all pereiopods caused Rathbun (1901) to erect a new genus, Homoriscus, for the new species H. portoricensis . Using branchial structure and the above mentioned criteria, Chace (1939) synonymized these genera with Naushonia, in the subfamily Naushoniinae, family Laomediidae. The genus seems to be rare, and very few findings of specimens be­ longing to these species have been reported. Four of the five species in this genus are found on American coastlines: A^. crango­ noides, east coast of the U.S.A. (Kingsley, 1897); N. portoricensis (Rathbun, 1901) Caribbean Sea (Rathbun, 1901); N. macginitiei (Glassell, 1938) Mexico and Cali­ fornia (Glassell, 1938); A^. panamensis Martin and Abele, 1982 Pacific coast of Panama (Martin and Abele, 1982). The fifth, N. perrieri, is known from the Red Sea and Somalia coast line (Nobili, 1904). The pres­ ent finding is the first from the southern hemisphere and the second from the Indian Ocean.