Munidopsis taiwanica

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Munidopsis taiwanica
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Munidopsidae
Genus: Munidopsis
Species:
M. taiwanica
Binomial name
Munidopsis taiwanica
(Osawa, Lin & Chan, 2008)

Munidopsis taiwanica, is a species of Munidopsis , a genus of squat lobster. Named after the type locality. [1] Deepest known record for squat lobsters at 5491m in the Mariana Trench, [1] [2] [3] [4] and is the first confirmed species of squat lobster found in the mud volcano environment. [3]

Contents

Anatomy and morphology

When the specimen of Munidopsis taiwanica is fresh, it has an entirely white body and pereopods colouration. Munidopsis taiwanica has carapace 1.1 times as longer as its width, and covered with short curved plumose setae. [1] [3] Its dorsal surface is convex from side to side, strongly inflated on gastric and cardiac regions, with branchial that has small tubercles and lateral spines on the anterior and cardiac region with numerous, little elevated ridges on the posterior. It contains anterolateral spine that are slightly larger than antennal spine and slightly smaller than following spine on the lateral margins, with 6 or 7 posteriorly diminishing spines, and posterior branchial margin with 4 or 5 spines on the anterior half. Its telson divides into 8 plates, with 2 eye-spines and ocular peduncle that are hardly movable. [1] Through observation it is suggested that Munidopsis taiwanica probably exhibited camouflage behaviour by attaching seafloor sediments onto its body forming a muddy layer of the background colour as it was closely associated with the chemosynthetic environment of a mud volcano field. [3]

Munidopsis taiwanica appears most similar to Munidopsis solidissima , which are found in Madagascar, and are similar in morphology and colouration with Munidopsis profunda . [1]

Intraspecific variations

The specimen that was collected in the Mariana Trench has 10 spines on the branchial, with rostrum that is more strongly upturned, and ventrolateral spine that is comparatively longer than the dorsolateral spines on the anterior. Whereas the sole type specimen has 11 or 12 spines, and the holotype has a rostrum that is less curved, and 2 subequal spines on the anterior. These differences could be interpreted as intraspecific variations unless more specimens are collected and could discover a systematic importance. [3]

Distribution and habitat

Munidopsis taiwanica is only known from Taiwan at present, at a depth of 4,990-5,011m. [1] It is found in East of Taiwan Island, Mariana Trench, mud volcano environments. [3] Munidopsis taiwanica is the 32nd species of the genus Munisopsis collected in Taiwan, and the 10th species from abyssal depths below 3,000m in the Taiwanese waters. The deepest known records is at 5491m in a marine mud volcano field in the Mariana Trench (10°51′02.5″N 41°57′11.2″E). [1] [2] [3] [4]

Diet

Munidopsis taiwanica is a detritus feeder considering that its chelae has spoon-shaped fingers. Its food resource most likely consists of chemosynthetic bacteria and meiobenthos from the seafloor sediments. They might also prey on small heterotrophs, so they may feed on material produced by chemosynthetic bacteria. Some squat lobsters from vent and seep habitats, such as Shinkaia crosnieri and species of the family Kiwaidae , feed directly on the chemosynthetic bacteria. [3]

Related Research Articles

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A cold seep is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool. Cold does not mean that the temperature of the seepage is lower than that of the surrounding sea water. On the contrary, its temperature is often slightly higher. The "cold" is relative to the very warm conditions of a hydrothermal vent. Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species.

<i>Kiwa hirsuta</i> Species of crustacean

Kiwa hirsuta is a crustacean discovered in 2005 in the South Pacific Ocean. This decapod, which is approximately 15 cm (5.9 in) long, is notable for the quantity of silky blond setae covering its pereiopods. Its discoverers dubbed it the "yeti lobster" or "yeti crab".

<i>Kiwa</i> (crustacean) Genus of crustaceans

Kiwa is a genus of marine decapods living at deep-sea hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. The animals are commonly referred to as "yeti lobsters" or "yeti crabs", after the legendary yeti, because of their "hairy" or bristly appearance. The genus is placed in its own family, Kiwaidae, in the superfamily Chirostyloidea.

<i>Galathea squamifera</i> Species of crustacean

Galathea squamifera, the black squat lobster, or Montagu's plated lobster, is a species of squat lobster that lives in the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Munidopsis serricornis</i> Species of crustacean

Munidopsis serricornis is a species of squat lobster. It is widely distributed in the world's oceans, being found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the western Atlantic Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific. It grows up to a carapace length of 20 millimetres (0.8 in).

<i>Galathea intermedia</i> Species of crustacean

Galathea intermedia is a species of squat lobster found in the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean, as far north as Troms, Norway, south to Dakar and the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Munidopsis</i> Genus of crustaceans

Munidopsis is a genus of squat lobster. It is the second largest of all the genera of squat lobsters, after Munida, with over 200 species. Its members are mainly found on continental slopes and on abyssal plains. A few fossil species are also known, including specimens from the Campanian (Cretaceous).

<i>Eumunida picta</i> Species of crustacean

Eumunida picta is a species of squat lobster found in the deep sea. The species is strongly associated with reefs of Lophelia pertusa, a deep-water coral, and with methane seeps. It is abundant in the western Atlantic Ocean, where it is found from Massachusetts to Colombia.

<i>Allogalathea elegans</i> Species of crustacean

Allogalathea elegans is a species of squat lobster that is sometimes kept in marine aquariums. Despite their common name, they are more closely related to hermit crabs than lobsters.

<i>Shinkaia</i> Genus of crustaceans

Shinkaia crosnieri is a species of squat lobster in a monotypic genus in the family Munidopsidae. S. crosnieri lives in deep-sea hydrothermal vent ecosystems, living off of the chemosynthetic activity of certain bacteria living on its setae.

<i>Munida rugosa</i> Species of crustacean

Munida rugosa, commonly known as the rugose squat lobster or plated lobster, is a species of decapod crustacean found in the north east Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Munididae Family of crustaceans

The Munididae are a family of squat lobsters, taxonomically separated from the family Galatheidae in 2010.

Munidopsis tuberosa is a species of squat lobster, first isolated from deep waters off Taiwan. M. tuberosa is similar to M. granosicorium, but it differs by the configuration of its carapace and rostrum.

Eumunida chani is a species of chirostylid squat lobster first found in Taiwan. This species can be distinguished by its absence of a pad of densely distributed setae on its first pereopod, the anterior branchial margin which bears two spines, and the carpus of its first pereopod carrying only two spines.

Uroptychus anatonus is a species of chirostylid squat lobster first found in Taiwan. U. anatonus and U. anacaena are similar but can be distinguished from each other by the shape of their 4th sternite and the length of their antennal scale. Both species resemble U. maori and U. brucei, but lack a ventral subterminal spine on their first pereopod's ischium.

Uroptychus singularis is a species of chirostylid squat lobster first found in Taiwan. This species is distinguished from U. australis by its single, unpaired terminal spine on its flexor margin of pereopods 2–4.

Munidopsis tafrii is a species of squat lobster first found in Taiwanese waters at depths greater than 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). It resembles M. ceratophthalma, however its carapace morphology distinguishes it from its cogenerate species.

<i>Raymunida insulata</i> Species of crustacean

Raymunida insulata is a species of squat lobster in the family Munididae from the Pacific and Indian oceans. The species can be distinguished by its morphology and its mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences.

<i>Raymunida confundens</i> Species of crustacean

Raymunida confundens is a species of squat lobster in the family Munididae from the Pacific and Indian oceans. The species can be distinguished by its morphological characters and its mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequences.

<i>Torbenella calvata</i> Species of crustacean

Torbenella calvata is a species of squat lobsters in the family Munididae. The species name, calvata, comes from the Latin word calvatus, meaning made bare. This is in reference to its lack of spines on the anterior ridge of the second abdominal segment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Osawa, Masayuki; Chan, Tin-Yam; Lin, Chia-Wei (2006-01-01). "Munidopsis (Decapoda: Anomura: Galatheidae) from the Abyssal Depths of Taiwan, with Description of One New Species". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 26 (3): 420–428. doi:10.1651/s-2789.1. ISSN   0278-0372. S2CID   85632482.
  2. 1 2 Schnabel, Kareen E. the Marine Fauna of New Zealand.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Dong, Dong; Li, Xinzheng (2018). "New record of Munidopsis taiwanica (Decapoda, Anomura) from a mud volcano field in the Mariana Trench, with in-situ observations on habitat". Crustaceana. 91 (3): 363–373. doi:10.1163/15685403-00003773. ISSN   0011-216X.
  4. 1 2 Marin, Ivan (April 2020). "Northern unicorns of the depths: Diversity of the genus Munidopsis Whiteaves, 1874 (Decapoda: Anomura: Munidopsidae) in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with descriptions of three new species along the Russian coast". Progress in Oceanography. 183: 102263. Bibcode:2020PrOce.18302263M. doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102263. ISSN   0079-6611. S2CID   213287533.
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