(Figs. 7A–C; 8 A–B)
Pontophilus brevirostris Smith, 1881: 435,436.— Smith 1882: 35, 36, pl. 7, figs. 1, la, b.— Smith 1887: 653.— Chace 1956: 14.— Thompson 1963: 262 –268, figs. 31b, 32.— Pequegnat 1970: 113.— Pequegnat et al. 1971: 10.— Williams 1974: 14, 40, fig. 37 (Key).— Williams & Wigley 1977: 8.— Young 1978: 175.— Wenner & Boesch 1979: 110.— Dardeau & Heard 1983: 17, fig. 8.— Williams 1984: 161, fig.113.
Material examined. 3 OvigerOus females (TL: 56 mm, 57 mm and 55 mm), POtiguar Basin, #MT– 65, 497 m, 04° 33' 39'' S, 036° 52' 99'' W, 13 May 2011, MOUFPE: 15.179. 1 female (TL: 61 mm), POtiguar Basin, #MT– 61, 457 m, 04° 47' 83'' S, 036° 11' 02'' W, 0 8 May 2011, MOUFPE: 15.245.
Diagnosis. Carapace with mid-dOrsal carina with 3–4 spines, lateral carina with 3 spines and a shOrt secOnd lateral carina with Only One spine; hepatic spine present; rOstrum very shOrt with a tOOth at each side Of base, nOt reaching the end Of cOrnea. Six pairs Of branchiae present, directed pOsteriOrly. First pereOpOd subchelate, stOut, with rudimentary exOpOd. SecOnd pereOpOd chelate and shOrt, reaching 1/2 Of merus Of first pereOpOd. AbdOmen with first fOur sOmites rOunded, fifth with lOw diverging carinae and 6th with twO parallel carinae. TelsOn tapering tO narrOw tip with shOrt central spine and 2 pairs Of superimpOsed lateral spines (mOdified frOm Williams 1974).
Geographical distribution. Western Atlantic: United States (Cape Hatteras), Gulf Of Maine tO Eastern Gulf Of MexicO, Off Dry TOrtugas, FlOrida; Cuba, Bahamas and Brazil: (Rio Grande do Norte) (Fig. 9) (Smith 1887; PeQuegnat 1970; Dardeau & Heard 1983; Williams 1984; Felder et al. 2009).
Bathymetric distribution. Occurring frOm 7 tO 426 m (PeQuegnat 1970; Dardeau & Heard 1983; Smith 1887; Felder et al. 2009), herein it was fOund between 457– 497 m.
Remarks. The specimens examined herein fits well with the Original descriptiOn given by Dardeau & Heard (1983), but shOwing sOme differences when cOmpared with specimens analyzed by Smith (1881), Williams (1974; 1984) and VázQuez-Bader & Gracia (2013) (see Table 2).
* Type-locality Pontophilus brevirostris clOsely resembles P. norvegicus (Sars, 1861) and P. spinosus (Leach, 1816), but these species can be distinguished frOm each Other as fOllOw (characteristics Of P. norvegicus and P. spinosus respectively in parentheses): rOstrum nOt reaching the end Of eyes (Fig. 8 A) (vs. surpassing the eyes, nOt exceeding eyes); rOstrum with three spines, being the central spine slightly larger than the Others (Fig. 8 A) (vs. central spine much larger than the Others, central spine slightly larger than the Others); carapace with 3 dOrsal spines (vs. 3–4 dOrsal spines with One rudimentary, 4 dOrsal spines); lateral carina with three spines (Fig. 8 A) (vs. 2 with 1 rudimentary, 3 spines); hepatic carina with One spine (vs. Only One spine, 2 spines). AccOrding tO Smith (1882), Williams & Wigley (1977) and Dardeau & Heard (1983), the species Of Pontophilus brevirostris inhabits cOntinental shelf and cOntinental slOpe), shOwing a wide bathymetric distributiOn Of 7 tO 497 m, and suppOrting a great variatiOn Of temperature Of 4.9 °C tO 17.2 °C. Thus, this the first repOrt Of P. brevirostris frOm sOuthwestern Atlantic (Brazilian waters).