A total of eight pycnogonid species were found in this study (Table 1), six of which were previously known from Portuguese coasts. Ammothella longioculata (Faraggiana, 1940) and Anoplodactylus angulatus (Dohrn, 1881) represent new records increasing the number of species from continental Portuguese waters to twenty-four (Table 1).
New records
SYSTEMATICS
Family AMMOTHEIDAE Dohrn, 1881
Genus Ammothella Verrill, 1900
Ammothella longioculata (Faraggiana, 1940)
Ammothea (Ammothella) longioculata: Faraggiana, 1940
Material examined
3 specimens, MNCN 20.03/858-860 and 10 specimens, ADAM, all Foz, 41° 09’ 15.55”N 8° 40’ 50.46”W, 29/07/2010, macroalgae, intertidal, collected by M. Rubal and P. Veiga. 1 specimen, ADAM, Aguda, 41°02’43.22”N 08°39’10.31”W, 30/07/2010, macroalgae, intertidal, collected by M. Rubal and P. Veiga.
Diagnosis
After Bamber (2010) and Munilla León and Soler-Membrives (2014): Trunk with sutures present between segments 1 and 2 and between 2 and 3. Cephalon with conspicuous anterolateral tubercles, ocular tubercle three times as tall as wide, with four eyes. Lateral processes separated, each bearing a dorsodistal, elongate, fleshy tubercle with no seta. Abdomen with pair of dorsodistal setae, exceeding distal margin of first coxa of fourth leg. Proboscis large, fusiform. Chelifores present, reaching half of proboscis length; scape one articled, with distal plumose spines. Palps of nine articles, second longer than fourth, five distal articles subequal, ventrally setose. Ovigers with compound spines in pairs on articles 7 to 10. Walking legs with simple spines and some plumose spines, femur shorter than tibiae, bearing cement gland opening in males via short distal tube, tarsus short, sole of propodus with three or four larger spines, auxiliary claws about half as long as the main claw.
Distribution
Mediterranean Sea and North of Portugal.
Remarks
Ammothella longioculata, described from the Ligurian Sea (Faraggiana, 1940) has been cited on ten occasions, all in the Mediterranean Sea (Koçak & Katagan 2008 and references therein), where it is considered endemic and is widespread from East to West in northern and western coasts (Koçak & Katagan 2008; Munilla León and Soler-Membrives 2014). The westernmost record to date is from Chafarinas Islands in Alboran Sea (Munilla & Nieto 1999), and the current record represents the first for A. longioculata in the Atlantic. The sea water in the North-West Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula is often colder than in the Mediterranean and the hydrodynamic pressure significantly higher, so the occurrence in Northern Portugal indicates that A. longioculata tolerates a broader range of these two factors than previously thought.
In the Iberian Mediterranean, A. longioculata is found at 12 m depth, while in the Atlantic was found in the intertidal. This depth difference suggests habitat shift in order to maintain the temperature preferred and might indicate temperature constraints for this species. As pycnogonid species are rarely identified to species level in benthic surveys and Portugal shore is poorly sampled, it is most likely that this species it has gone unnoticed until now.
Family PHOXICHILIDIIDAE Sars, 1891
Genus Anoplodactylus Wilson, 1878
Anoplodactylus angulatus (Dohrn, 1881)
Phoxichilidium angulatum: Dohrn, 1881
Material examined
1 specimen, MNCN 20.03/861, Viana, 41° 41’ 49.79”N 8° 51’ 10.52”W, 30/07/2010, macroalgae, intertidal, collected by M. Rubal and P. Veiga.
Diagnosis
After Bamber (2010) and Munilla León and Soler-Membrives (2014): Trunk compact, sutures present. Cephalon not overhanging proboscis base. Lateral processes with no tubercles, slightly separated. Ocular tubercle dome shaped, with four pigmented eyes. Proboscis with characteristic distinct angulate distal corners, with ventral basal protuberance in males. Abdomen inclined about 45°, reaching mid-length of the last legs first coxa. Chelifores scape straight, as long as proboscis, chela palm longer than fingers, fingers with 3–6 internal teeth. Ovigers six articled. Walking legs sparsely spinose, first coxa with two distolateral spines, coxa 2 as long as 1 and 2 together, femur with 2–6 cement pores, femur and tibia subequal in length, tarsus compact, propodus with distinct heel, bearing two large proximal and three slender distal spines, sole with no lamina, main claw about as long as sole, auxiliary claws small, lateral.
Distribution
Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.
Remarks
Anoplodactylus angulatus has been recorded not only in the Mediterranean Sea (e. g. Arnaud, 1987; Munilla, 1988; Krapp et al.,
2008; Koçak et al.,
2010) but also in the British Isles (King & Crapp 1971; Roberts, 1981) and Macaronesia (Sanchez and Munilla 1989; Bamber and Costa 2009), which indicates that the species is widespread in the area in spite of the scarcity of its records. This species is now new record for Portuguese waters.
Other Pycnogonida species found in this study
Only three of the remaining species had been previously recorded in the north of Portugal: Nymphon gracile Leach, 1814, Nymphon macrum Wilson, 1880 and Pycnogonum litorale (Strom, 1762). These were recorded by Nobre (1903), Stephensen (1935) and Nogueira (1956, 1967). On the other hand, the new records (i.e. A. longioculata and A. angulatus) and N. macrum are the only species recorded exclusively in the northern region although their broad general distribution in the North East Atlantic suggests that they might be present throughout the Portuguese coast.
Two additional species previously known from southern areas of Portugal were found in the north for the first time: Anoplodactylus pygmaeus (Hodge, 1864) and Anoplodactylus virescens (Hodge, 1864), although the latter was cited in the Northwest of Spain (Munilla, 1987; Soler-Membrives & Munilla, 2015). P. litorale, previously found at Foz by Nobre (1903) was not recorded. Azeda et al. (2013) listed this species amongst the taxa found in a monitoring survey near Lisbon, which would confirm the presence of this species in the central region.
Callipallene brevirostris (Jonhston, 1837) was listed by Stock (1952) as being recorded from the littoral zone on the Portuguese coast but the precise location has not been identified. Nogueira (1967) questioned this record and the species has not been recorded again. Nevertheless, the presence of C. brevirostris in northern Portugal is feasible, given the recent report in the nearby Galicia, NW Spain (Esquete et al.,
2013)
Nogueira overlooked Tanystylum conirostre (Dohrn, 1881) in her first report of the pycnogonids of Portugal (1956), but amended the mistake in her synopsis (1967), although in the latter the description and drawings of Tanystylum orbiculare Wilson, 1878 and T. conirostre are confounded.
The 24 pycnogonid species recorded in Portugal (Table 1) represent about 36 % of the 65 species found in the Iberian Peninsula (Munilla León and Soler-Membrives 2014) and about 25 % of the 84 species recorded by Bamber (2010) for the North East Atlantic. These results suggest that the pycnogonid diversity in the continental Portuguese shores is still poorly known, and an increase in the research effort will improve the information about the diversity and geographical distribution of the Pycnogonida in the Iberian Peninsula and worldwide.