Mursia africana Galil 1993

(Figure 4E)

Material examined. M07, Stn. 69, 366m, 51× 39.1mm (CW without lateral spine) (IEO-CD-MZ07/1896), 16S (MZ 424925), COI (MZ 434771); M08, Stn. 54, 211m, ♂ 50.4× 38.6mm (IEO-CD-MZ08/1797), 16S (MZ 424926), COI (MZ 434772).

Habitat and distribution. This is one of the three species of Mursia recorded in Southeast African waters (Emmerson 2016b,c; Spiridonov & Apel 2007). Its geographical distribution ranges from Kenya to Mozambique, at depths between 177–290m (Spiridonov & Apel 2007) and Thailand (Sasaki 2019). This distribution could be extended to Somalia if we consider a specimen deposited in the Collection Crustacea SMF (Senckenberg Institute, Germany), record published by GBIF.org (2021, unpublished record).

Results and remarks. These two specimens collected in M07 and M08, agree well with the description by Galil (1993). The specimens were caught at depths between 211 and 366m, this extending the depth range in Mozambique and worldwide, up to 366m.

Colouration observed. The carapace and chelae were orange brown with small red tubercles and to a lesser extent, with white tubercles, these mainly through the intestinal region. Bigger tubercles and the anterolateral edge of the carapace were red with white tips. Pereiopods were cream coloured ventrally, and light orange dorsally. After preservation, both in alcohol and formaldehyde, specimens keep the dorsum of carapace light brown, with the deeper areas between tubercles reddish and ambulatory legs in beige.

DNA barcodes. There are not available sequences for this species on any public database. The 16S sequences are equal for both specimens and there are two haplotypes for COI (differing in three mutations), and in both cases differ markedly from the other 16S and COI sequences of Mursia spp. in Genbank and BOLD.