Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2022 | 14(6): 21302–21306
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7530.14.6.21302-21306
#7530 | Received 20 June 2021 | Final
received 24 May 2022 | Finally accepted 03 June 2022
Reappearance of stomatopod Gonodactylus platysoma (Wood-Mason, 1895) after an era from the
intertidal region of Chota Balu,
South Andaman, India
N. Muthu
Mohammed Naha 1, Limaangnen Pongener 2 &
G. Padmavati 3
1,2,3 Department of Ocean Studies and
Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, Brookshabad
Campus, Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands 744112, India.
1 nmmnaha66@gmail.com, 2 aangnenpongener@gmail.com,
3 padma190@rediffmail.com (corresponding author)
Editor: R. Ravinesh, Gujarat Institute of Desert
Ecology, Kachchh, India. Date of publication: 26
June 2022 (online & print)
Citation: Naha, N.M.M., L. Pongener & G. Padmavati (2022). Reappearance of stomatopod Gonodactylus
platysoma (Wood-Mason, 1895) after an era from
the intertidal region of Chota Balu,
South Andaman, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(6): 21302–21306. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7530.14.6.21302-21306
Copyright: © Naha et al. 2022. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This work was carried out with the help of Pondicherry
University fellowship.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We thank Pondicherry University
for providing all the necessary facilities to carry out this research work. The
authors would like to gratefully acknowledge Dr. Roy Caldwell, University of
California, Berkeley for confirmation of the species.
Abstract: Mantis shrimp Gonodactylus platysoma
was observed during a survey for seaweed-related macrofauna
from the intertidal region of Andamans after a century. The specimen was
collected using a scoop net, identified based on Kemp (1913) and Ahyong (2001). The detailed description, images and
illustrations are given in this article. The reappearance of G. platysoma after a century highlights the potential of
revealing the rich biodiversity in Andaman and the need to monitor stomatopods for a better overview of their ecological
interactions and diversity.
Keywords: Andaman, blue spot smasher,
Crustacea, Mantis shrimp, shallow water, thumb splitter.
The Andaman & Nicobar group
of islands are one of the richest repositories of biodiversity in southeastern
Asia (Balakrishnan et al. 2008) with remarkable speciation and endemism because
of their geographical isolation (Nair et al. 2008). Mantis shrimps are members
of the marine crustacean order Stomatopoda
inhabiting waters (Manning 1977; Cheroske et al.
2009). The members of the Bathysquilloids, living on
greater depths (Caldwell 1991; Schram et al. 2013). The demographic composition
of mantis shrimps varies spatially and seasonally with the habitat and
environmental conditions (Abello & Martin 1993; Lui 2005). Stomatopods have
unique feeding habits (Dingle & Caldwell 1978). The prey capture method utilised by stomatopods is often considered as one of the fastest animal
movements, which involves smashing (smashers) or spearing (spearers),
depending on whether the dactyl is held folded or extended (Dingle &
Caldwell 1969; Caldwell & Dingle 1976). Smashers have well-built raptorial
appendages which move with great pace and extreme force (Patek et al. 2004).
Their ability to create strikes of extreme forces corresponds to their
particular diet of crustaceans, molluscs and a
variety of marine organisms, viz., fishes, squids and other benthic
invertebrates (Caldwell & Dingle 1976; Dingle & Caldwell 1978; Hamano
& Matsuura 1986; Caldwell et al. 1989; Hamano et al. 1996). Stomatopods are known to play a crucial role in the food
web of the marine benthic community (Dingle & Caldwell 1978; Hamano &
Matsuura 1986; Hamano et al. 1996).
There are 500 extant Stomatopoda
species globally under seven superfamilies and 20
families (van Der Wal et al. 2019). Recently, Trivedi et al. (2020) listed 72
species, 35 genera, 10 families and five superfamilies
from various parts of Indian coastal waters. The maximum species diversity was
reported from the family Squillidae (43 species),
followed by Gonodactylidae (seven species). The
pioneering work on stomatopods from India was
initiated by Wood-Mason (1875, 1876, 1895) with the description of several new
species. After that, Kemp (1913) contributed to the first significant work on
the stomatopods from the Indo-West Pacific region,
which recognised 139 species globally and 98 species
from the Indo-Pacific region. From Andaman & Nicobar Islands, 35 species of
stomatopods were recorded (Trivedi et al. 2020).
However, limited studies have been reported on the family Gonodactylidae
from these islands (Jayabarathi et al. 2013; Kumaralingam & Raghunathan 2016; Kumaralingam
et al. 2017; Niveditha et al. 2019; Trivedi et al.
2020). Gonodactylus platysoma
was initially described from the Mauritius islands (Wood---Mason 1895). After
that, Kemp (1913) recorded it from the Andaman Islands. In this study, Gonodactylus platysoma
(Wood-Mason, 1895) has been recorded after 100 years from the Andaman Islands.
During our ecological survey for seaweed (Halimeda
sp.) macrofauna collection at Chota
Balu (11.514°N, 92.495°E) in South Andaman, six
mantis shrimps were observed to be in association within the seaweed habitat. A
specimen was collected using a scoop net (net mouth: 30 x 30 cm; mesh size: 4 mm)
and carried to the laboratory in a covered bucket. In the laboratory, the
specimen was narcotised using five drops of eugenol
(4-allyl-2-methoxy phenol) in 5 ml of ethanol dissolved in 1 L of seawater
(Ahyong et al. 2017) and later photographed without delay
(Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II). Ocular scales were analysed under a Magnus zoom stereo trinocular microscope,
and the specimen was identified from the literature by Kemp (1913) and Ahyong (2001). The specimen was preserved in 5%
formaldehyde solution and deposited in the repository of the Zoological Survey
of India (ZSI/ANRC/M/24202), Port Blair, A&N Islands.
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca Latreille,
1802
Order: Stomatopoda Latreille, 1817
Suborder: Unipeltata Latreille, 1825
Family: Gonodactylidae
Giesbrecht, 1910
Genus: Gonodactylus
Berthold, 1827
Gonodactylus platysoma Wood---Mason,
1895 (Blue Spot Mantis Shrimp, Blue Spot Smasher)
Material examined: ZSI/ANRC/M/24202, 1 Female (TL 76
mm), Chota Balu, 11.637 N;
92.798 E, South Andaman Island, January 2020.
Diagnosis: The body is broader compared to other
members of this family and live body is covered with green, white, and brown
blotches. Presence of dorsal carinae in the sixth abdominal somite (AS6) and
telson region. White meral spot is present in the
raptorial claw. The ocular scales are separated, wide and flat (Image 1A) are
about as large as the rostral plate. Telson (Image 1C) without lateral tooth,
the margin of telson continuous between anterolateral angle and apex of intermediate
tooth. Uropodal exopod at the distal segment of the
outer margin with 9–13 movable spines. Previously, G. platysoma
was reported before a century from the coarse collection of the Indian
museum by Late Woods Mason in 1895 without any description or reference of the
species but solely on the figures. However, Kemp (1913) distinguished it
separately from the variant form of G. chiragra
and described the species and added observation of two conspicuous black spots
in the middle of AS1 based on the preserved specimen from the Indian museum.
Live specimen description by Ahyong (2001) does not
mention the presence of these conspicuous black spots in the AS1 of G. platysoma which are clearly observed in the specimen
from the present study.
Distribution: French Polynesia to Okinawa, Australia,
Indo-Malayan region to the western Indian Ocean (Ahyong
2001).
Gonodactylus have smashing
raptorial appendages and are associated with the burrows and cavities of the
sedimentary structures (living or dead coral/ inorganic rock) in the intertidal
region, and their presence in the present sampling site directs its preference
towards a particular type of habitat (Caldwell 1975; Silva et al. 2013). In
view of the reappearance of G. platysoma after
a century, it highlights the potential of revealing the rich biodiversity in
Andaman and the need to monitor stomatopods for a
better overview of their ecological interactions and diversity.
For figures &
image - - click here for full PDF
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