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Paralomis okitoriensis

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Paralomis okitoriensis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Suborder: Pleocyemata
Infraorder: Anomura
Family: Lithodidae
Genus: Paralomis
Species:
P. okitoriensis
Binomial name
Paralomis okitoriensis
Takeda, 2019[1]

Paralomis okitoriensis is a species of king crab.[1] It has been identified near Japan's southernmost atoll, Okinotorishima.[1]

Appearance

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P. okitoriensis is orange-red in colour with a pyriform carapace covered symmetrically in sharp tubercles on its dorsal surface.[1] The carapace's edges, by contrast, feature sharp spines.[1] The female holotype's carapace measures 44.2 mm (1.74 in) long and 43.5 mm (1.71 in) wide.[1] Its chelipeds bear a mix of longer spines on the inner side and smaller ones on the outer side; the chelipeds, including the chelae, are "remarkably slender".[1] The palms of its chelae are armed with spine-like tubercles tipped with tufts of setae, and its fingers are untoothed and heavily bristled.[1] Its walking legs – also slender – are especially spinose.[1] On its underside, its abdominal segments are well-developed; some are armed with tubercles, while others are smooth.[1]

Distribution

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A map showing Okinotorishima's location in relation to mainland Japan. It is located considerably south of it, approximately equal to the atoll's distance with the Philippines visible far to its southwest. Visible far to its northeast are the Ryukyu Islands and somewhat far to its east the arc forming the Mariana Islands. It is due almost exactly south of the Japanese city of Osaka.
A map showing the location of Okinotorishima.

P. okitoriensis is known from only one female holotype found in January 2006 off Japan's southernmost atoll, Okinotorishima, at a depth somewhere between 900 and 1,500 m (3,000 and 4,900 ft).[1] It was the 12th species of Paralomis described from Japanese waters.[1]

Taxonomy

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P. okitoriensis was described in 2019 by carcinologist Masatsune Takeda. Its name is a combination of the Japanese shorthand "Oki-Tori" for the Okinotorishima atoll where the holotype was found and the Latin suffix "-ēnsis" indicating "of or from a place".[1][a] It falls into an informal subgroup of Paralomis described by carcinologist Shane T. Ahyong which includes P. aculeata and P. spinosissima; this subgroup is characterized by its long chelipeds and walking legs as well as short, well-spaced tubercles on its carapace.[1][2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Lit. "Of/from Okinotorishima"

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Takeda, Masatsune (22 February 2019). "A New Crab-shaped Anomura of the Genus Paralomis White, 1856 (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the depths off Okino-Torishima, Southernmost Island in Japan" (PDF). Bulletin of the National Museum of Natural Sciences, Series A. 45 (1): 23–30. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  2. ^ Ahyong, Shane T. (2010). The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: King Crabs of New Zealand, Australia, and the Ross Sea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Lithodidae) (PDF). NIWA Diversity Memoirs. Vol. 123. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. p. 109. ISBN 978-0478232851. LCCN 2010497356. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 February 2020.