Abstract
Pycnogonida collected monthly from September 2017 to August 2018 in the Portofino Marine Protected Area at 0–5 m depth were studied. A total of 499 specimens were collected, 457 of which were identified to species level. These were classified as belonging to 10 species: Achelia echinata*, Ascorhynchus castelli, Neotrygaeus communis*, Tanystylum conirostre*, Anoplodactylus angulatus, A. petiolatus, A. pygmaeus*, A. virescens, Callipallene phantoma and C. tiberi*. For five dominant species (those marked with an asterisk) the annual phenology was outlined. Four hundred and seventeen additional specimens, collected from the same area and depth range mainly during the 1970s and 1980s were identified to species level for completeness of information, leading to the addition of Pycnogonum pusillum and Endeis spinosa.
Highlights
The Pycnogonida is a poorly known class of marine arthropods represented by 1350 species described (Bamber et al 2019). Lehmann et al (2014) report that 56 species are known for the Mediterranean Sea, consisting mostly of littoral species, while deep-sea ones are an exception
The Western Mediterranean fauna is better known: the Iberian and the Balearic waters host species (Soler-Membrives & Munilla 2015), species are present in the French part (Arnaud 1987) and 45 are those recorded in the Italian seas (Bartolino & Chimenz 2010)
The bathymetric range is narrow in N. communis (0–24 m), T. conirostre (0–13 m), A. angulatus (0–35 m), A. virescens (0–40 m), and wide in the other six species (0–537 m in A. echinata, 0–130 m in A. castelli, 0–1500 m in A. petiolatus, 0–587 m in A. pygmaeus, 0–850 m in C. phantoma and 0–523 m in C. tiberi)
Summary
The Pycnogonida is a poorly known class of marine arthropods represented by 1350 species described (Bamber et al 2019). Lehmann et al (2014) report that 56 species are known for the Mediterranean Sea, consisting mostly of littoral species, while deep-sea ones are an exception. Lehmann et al (2014) report that 56 species are known for the Mediterranean Sea, consisting mostly of littoral species, while deep-sea ones are an exception. This is assumed to be due to geological and temperature barriers that isolate Mediterranean deep water and make its fauna relatively species-poor (see Lehmann et al 2014). The Western Mediterranean fauna is better known: the Iberian and the Balearic waters host species (Soler-Membrives & Munilla 2015), species are present in the French part (Arnaud 1987) and 45 are those recorded in the Italian seas (Bartolino & Chimenz 2010). In the Ligurian Sea, mainly based on sporadic collections (Faraggiana 1940; Krapp 1975; Arnaud 1987; Chimenz Gusso 2000), 17 species have been recorded (Bartolino & Chimenz 2010)
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