Munidopsis penescabra Pequegnat & Williams 1995

Munidopsis penescabra Pequegnat & Williams, 1995

(Fig. 4 B)

Munidopsis penescabra Pequegnat & Williams 1995: 788, figs 2c–e, 3, 4b (western North Atlantic, north-western Gulf of Mexico, 543– 807 m.— Baba et al. 2008: 154 (compilation).

Material examined. Campeche Bank (Gulf of Mexico): SMF 49248, 2 males, 4.1–5.6 mm, 23°50.121’N, 87°10.484’W, 565 m, RV ‘ Maria S. Merian’ MSM 20/4 Station GeoB 163 08-1, BC, 22 March 2012, on muddy pteropod-foraminiferan ooze, associated with stalked crinoids, sponges, bryozoans, barnacles, brachiopods and few dead scleractinian fragments (mainly Lophelia pertusa (Linnaeus, 1758)); SMF 49254, 2 males, 2.8–5.9 mm, 23°49.731’N, 87°10.319’W, 578 m, RV ‘ Maria S. Merian’ MSM 20/4 Station GeoB 163 09-1, BC, 22 March 2012, no sediment collected—associated with Munidopsis tuerkayi n. sp., sponges and few dead scleractinian fragments (mainly Lophelia pertusa).

Colour in life. Carapace and abdomen pale brown; P1–4 whitish or pale brown. Cornea pale brown.

Remarks. The material examined agrees quite well with the original description. Pequegnat & Williams (1995) compared this species with M. scabra Faxon, 1893 and M. tanneri Faxon, 1893, both from the eastern Pacific. Munidopsis penescabra is also close to M. acutispina Benedict, 1902, from the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea (Froglia et al. 2002; Macpherson & Segonzac 2005). The differences are in the following:

The dorsal surface of the carapace has numerous small scales each ending in a well-developed spine in M. penescabra, whereas these scales are large each ending in a small spine in M. acutispina.

The eyespine is much larger in M. penescabra than in M. acutispina.

The suborbital spine is well developed in M. penescabra, whereas this spine is absent in M. acustina.

The spines on P1–4 are stronger in M. penescabra than in M. acutispina.

Distribution. The species was only known from off Georgia and northwestern Gulf of Mexico, 543– 807 m. The present specimen is from the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, at 565– 578 m.