Abstract
A new species of caprellid amphipod of the genus Paracaprella is described and illustrated in detail. All the material reported was collected from coral rubble samples from the Arrecife Tuxpan/Lobos Protected Natural Area, off Veracruz State, Mexico, WSW Gulf of Mexico. The new species is characterized by large eyes; article 2 of peduncle of antenna 2 with a distoventral process; body dorsally setose; large subrectangular projection on the anteroventral margin of pereonite 2; basis of gnathopod 2 elongate and thin with a proximal knob on posterior margin, propodus longer than broad, with a robust grasping spine, and a large and robust tooth distally; and pereopods 5, 6 and 7 with several long plumose setae. The new species increases the numbers of Paracaprella species recorded around the world to 8, and the caprellid species from the Gulf of Mexico to 16. All caprellid amphipod species documented from this gulf inhabit the coastal zone and six in the deep sea. In addition, the number of caprellid species decreases along the bathymetric gradient: 15 species on the littoral zone, 6 on the continental shelf, 5 on the continental slope, and 3 on the abyssal plain.
Highlights
Caprellids are benthic amphipods distributed from the intertidal zone to abyssal depths (Guerra-García et al 2008) and associated with algae, seagrasses, sponges, hydroids, bryozoans, tunicates, shell debris, coral rubbles, and soft bottoms (McCain 1968)
Caprellid amphipods have been subjected to various controversial phylogenetic analyses
This study describes a new species of Paracaprella and updates the caprellid amphipod checklist from the Gulf of Mexico occurring from the littoral zone to the abyssal plain, and provides the geographic distribution pattern of the genus Paracaprella around the world
Summary
Caprellids are benthic amphipods distributed from the intertidal zone to abyssal depths (Guerra-García et al 2008) and associated with algae, seagrasses, sponges, hydroids, bryozoans, tunicates, shell debris, coral rubbles, and soft bottoms (McCain 1968). These small marine crustaceans (millimetres to a few centimetres) are a food resource for some invertebrates and fish in coastal ecosystems (Guerra-García 2004, Woods 2009) and are considered excellent bioindicators (GuerraGarcía and García-Gómez 2001). 401 caprellid species grouped into 88 genera have been recorded worldwide (Ahyong et al 2011).
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