Vibilia chuni Behning & Woltereck 1912

Vibilia chuni Behning & Woltereck (Fig 26)

Vibilia chuni Behning & Woltereck, 1912: 8–9, figs 7–8. — Behning 1913a: 529, 533. Behning 1913b: 222–223. Behning 1925: 496–498, figs 68–78. Behning 1927: 120, 121 (Table). Pirlot 1929: 99. Barnard 1930: 405, fig. 53. Barnard 1940: 483–484. Hurley 1960b: 279. Siegfried 1963: 8. Dick 1970: 52. Semenova 1973: 176. Madin & Harbison 1977: 453 (Table), 454. Shulenberger 1977: 378 (Table). Tranter 1977: 646–647, 648 (Table). Brusca 1981: 17 (key), 39, fig. 4r. Vinogradov et al. 1982: 221–222, fig. 109. Barkhatov & Vinogradov 1988: 168 (Table), 170. Vinogradov 1990a: 56, 93 (Table). Zeidler 1992: 95, fig. 7. Shih & Chen 1995: 55–57, figs 30, 31. Barkhatov et al. 1999: 808 (Table). Vinogradov 1999: 1179, fig. 4.82. Gasca & Shih 2001: 496 (Table).

Vibilia hodgsoni Stewart, 1913: 251–253, pl. 6, figs 1–6. — Barnard 1925: 376.

Type material

The five syntypes of V. chuni are in the ZMB (209190). Behning and Woltereck (1912) do not specify a holotype. They record four specimens from the mid­Atlantic, from Valdivia Stns 46 (1º27.8’N, 10º16.5’W) and 49 (0º20’N, 6º45’W). The figured female is from Stn. 46.

Type material of synonyms

The type of V. hodgsoni is in the BMNH (1914.2.25.117). It is clearly the same as V. chuni. Stewart (1913) had most likely written her paper before the publication of Behning and Woltereck (1912) became available and thus was unaware that her species had already been described.

Material examined (137 specimens)

Types. Five syntypes of V. chuni from Valdivia Stns. 46 and 49: all in spirit; one intact female and three other specimens, one with A1 missing and one with the Us missing, from Stn. 49 and one female, dissected on the left with Us missing, from Stn. 46. Holotype of V. hodgsoni, male(?), approximately 6 mm, from near Cape of Good Hope, 36º03’S, 12º50’E, Discovery, 1 st October, 1901: microscope slide of G1 & 2 and P7, remainder in spirit.

Other material examined. Tasman Sea: 1 lot (AM), 1 specimen. North Atlantic: 1 lot (USNM), 7 lots (ZMB), 8 specimens. North Pacific: 2 lots (LACM), 3 lots (USNM), 6 specimens. South Pacific: 2 lots (BMNH), 3 specimens. South Indian: 45 lots (SAM), 7 lots (SAMA), 103 specimens.

Diagnosis

Body length up to 7.5 mm. Antennae 1 slightly longer than head and first two pereonites; flagellum oval, ventral margin somewhat oblique for distal third. Gnathopod 2; carpal process about half­length of propodus. Pereopods 3 & 4; dactylus length about 0.3x propodus. Pereopods 5 & 6; dactylus length about 0.2x propodus. Pereopod 7; basis rectangular, almost twice as long as wide, half as long again as ischium to dactylus combined, with rounded margins and rounded posterodistal lobe overlapping ischium. Lateral corner of last urosomite produced, partly overlapping peduncle of U3. Uropod 3; peduncle distinctly longer than rami; endopod subequal in length to exopod in females, in males the endopod is slightly broader and longer and apically rounded. Telson triangular, rounded terminally, length about half peduncle of U3.

Remarks

This is one of the most readily recognisable species of Vibilia. The combination of characters given in the diagnosis, particularly the shape of antennae 1, the urosome, and pereopod 7, readily distinguish V. chuni from all its congeners.

Vibilia chuni has been recorded as an associate of the salps Cyclosalpa polae and Salpa maxima (Madin & Harbison 1977).

Distribution

This is a relatively rare species known mainly from the tropical waters of the world’s oceans. However, it was relatively common and abundant in collections from off the east coast of South Africa (SAM).