Photis davei Myers 2009, sp. nov.

Photis davei sp. nov.

(Figs 15, 16)

Type material. Holotype, male, 3.2 mm, AM P75474, Casuarina Beach, Lizard Island (14 o 40’77S 145 o 26’85”E), fine slightly muddy sand, kick-net, S.E. LeCroy, 0.5 m, 5 July 2001 (SEL /LZI-5-1). Paratypes: 2 females, AM P75475, same data as holotype.

Type locality. Casuarina Beach, Lizard island, Queensland, Australia (14 o 40’77S 145 o 26’85”E).

Etymology. Named for Dr David McGrath in appreciation of more than three decades of cooperative work on North Atlantic amphipods.

Description. Based on holotype, male, 3.2 mm, AM P75474.

Head. Head anteroventral margin strongly recessed, extending behind posterior margin of eye. Eye round, small, less than one quarter head length, situated entirely within the lateral lobe. Mandible palp article 3 distinctly shorter than article 2, spatulate, widest subdistally. Antenna 1 peduncular articles 1 and 3 subequal in length; flagellum with 8 articles, bearing aesthetascs on most articles; accessory flagellum absent. Antenna 2 short about half body length; flagellum distinctly longer than peduncular article 5 with 7 articles.

Pereon. Coxae 1–5 longer than broad, sparsely fringed with short setae; coxa 1 unproduced. Gnathopod 1 carpus subequal to propodus; propodus twice as long as wide, posterodistal margin evenly rounded. Gnathopod 2 basis anterior margin lacking setae; carpus without distinct free posterior expansion; propodus twice as long as carpus, posterodistal margin without robust seta, palm with multiple excavations; dactylus distinctly longer than half length of propodus. Pereopod 3 merus with several very long setae on anterior margin; propodus elongate, more than 5 x as long as broad. Pereopod 5 basis slightly expanded, distinctly longer than broad, with few setae on anterior margin. Pereopods 5-7 dactyls each with accessory spine on anterior margin.

Pleon. Epimeron 3 posterodistal margin rounded. Uropod 1 peduncle, without distoventral spine; rami distinctly unequal in length. Uropod 2 peduncle without distoventral spine; rami distinctly unequal in length. Uropod 3 peduncle slender, distinctly longer than outer ramus; inner ramus vestigial; outer ramus with terminal fine setae. Telson without robust setae.

Female (sexually dimorphic characters). Based on paratype female 3.1 mm, AM P75475. Gnathopod 2 similar to that of male, but propodus a little longer.

Habitat. Muddy sand.

Remarks. This species resembles P. brevicaudata Stebbing, 1888, but differs in the very elongate propodus of pereopods 3–4 as well as in differences in the shapes of gnathopods 1 and 2. In the elongate propodus of pereopods 3–4 this species resembles P. paeowai Myers, 1995, from Papua New Guinea. That species however, has an even more slender propodus and very elongate dactylus on these appendages. It further differs from P. paeowai in its smaller eye, longer coxa 1 and longer carpus in the female gnathopod 2. It differs from P. pirloti Myers, 1985 in its much smaller eye and complexly excavated palm of gnathopod 2. It differs from P. aina J.L. Barnard, 1970 in lacking long setae on the coxae. It shows some similarity with P. sinensis Ren, 2006, but differs from that species in the vestigial inner ramus of uropod 3, that of P. sinensis being fully half the length of the outer ramus.

Distribution. Australia. Queensland: Casuarina Beach, Lizard Island (current study).