First report of the Green Mantis Shrimp Gonodactylellus viridis(Serène, 1954) (Crustacea:Stomatopoda) from seagrass habitat of the South Andaman coast, India

 

R. Jayabarathi1, I. Anandavelu 2 & G. Padmavati 3

 

1,2,3 Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology, Pondicherry University, BrookshabadCampus, P.Bag.No: 01, Chakkargaon, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744112, India

1 arjayabarathi@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 ianandavelu@gmail.com,

3 padma190@rediffmail.com

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3448.4517-20   |  ZooBank:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0BB645A9-8034-459B-BB20-EF1A9E465370

 

Editor: C. Raghunathan, Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.          Date of publication: 26 June 2013 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # o3448 | Received 20 December 2012 | Final received 02 April 2013 | Finally accepted 03 May 2013

 

Citation: Jayabarathi, R., I. Anandavelu & G. Padmavati(2013). First report of the Green Mantis Shrimp Gonodactylellus viridis (Serène, 1954) (Crustacea: Stomatopoda) from seagrass habitat of the South Andaman coast, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(10): 4517–4520; doi:10.11609/JoTT.o3448.4517-20

 

Copyright: © Jayabarathiet al. 2013. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Funding:  Pondicherry University.

 

Competing Interest: None.

 

Acknowledgements: The authors are grateful to Dr. P.M. Mohan, Head of the Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology and authorities of Pondicherry University for the facility provided.  We thank to Dr. C. Raghunathan, Scientist-in-Charge, ZSI, ANRC, Port Blair and Mr. C.R. Sreeraj, PhD Scholar, ZSI, ANRC, Port Blair for their suggestions, co-operation and help.

 

 

 

For images -- click here

 

 

The Andaman and Nicobar archipelago is known to host a high diversity of marine flora and fauna.  While the biodiversity of this region has been under exploration relatively few studies have focused on seagrass (Das 1996; Kannan et al. 1999; Thangaradjou et al. 2010).  Seagrass bed structure is an important component of tropical and temperate marine ecosystems.  They have a key ecological function in the intertidal region (Terrados& Duarte 2000), and are known to support a rich assemblage of associated fauna (Orth et al. 1984).  Recently, Jayabarathiet al. (2012) documented the seagrass associated meiofauna from South Andaman.  In addition, a contradicting hypothesis states that predation intensity is greater near seagrassbeds, in which potential predators are more abundant (Virnstenet al. 1983; Summerson & Peterson 1984).

The present report deals with a stomatopod species Gonodactylellus viridis found on seagrasspatches of Thalassia hemprichii during the study of seagrass habitats of South Andaman.  Stomatopodcrustaceans are benthic marine predators (Cheroske et al. 2009) and raptorial carnivores found in shallow tropical or subtropical marine environment.  In recent decades this species has been reported from Vietnam, western Andaman Sea of Malaysia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Japan, the Philippines and Australia (Ahyong 2001). The bibliographic sources emphasize that gonodactyloidsappear to be quite abundant on coral reef habitats (Moosa& Erdmann 1994; Moosa 2000) and collected by plankton net (Ahyong 2001).  The present finding is of a Green Mantis Shrimp from seagrass habitat.

 

Materials and Methods

Sampling on seagrass patches of Thalassia hemprichii in the intertidal region of Burmanallah (11033’N & 92043’E), South Andaman (Image 1) during low tide on 14 November 2012 revealed the presence of one species of stomatopod crustacea.  The specimen was collected using forceps and immediately transferred into a polythene bag and carried to a laboratory for identification.  The species was distinctive for its striking green coloration (Image 2A) identified by studying the morphological characteristics and also compared with the previous reports of Erdmann & Manning (1998), Manning (1998), Ahyong (2001) and Ahyong & Moosa (2004).  After confirmation, the reference specimen was deposited in the National Zoological Collections of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI/ANRC 8134), Port Blair.

Abbreviations for morphological terminology used follows Manning (1998) and Ahyong(2001). It includes: Total length (TL) in millimeters (mm) measured along the midline from the tip of the rostrum to the apices of the submedianteeth, abdominal somite (AS), thoracic somite (TS), median (MD), submedian (SM), intermediate (IM), lateral (LT); and marginal (MG).  The photographs of identifying characteristics were produced by focusing under stereo zoom microscope (SMZ 1500) with Nikon COOLPIX 8400.

 

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Crustacea

Order Stomatopoda Latreille, 1817

Super Family Gonodactyloidea Giesbrecht, 1910

Family Gonodactylidae Giesbrecht, 1910

Genus GonodactylellusManning, 1995

Speciesviridis (Serène, 1954)

 

Materials examined: ZSI/ANRC 8134, 14.xi.2012, female (TL 55mm) (Image 2B), Seagrass patch, Burmanallah (11033’N & 92043’E), South Andaman, India (Image 1), coll. R. Jayabarathi and I. Anandavelu.

Common name: Green Mantis Shrimp.

Family characteristics: Dactylus of raptorial claw inflated basally, strongly buttressed and unarmed on inner margin and telson with median crania.

Species description: Corneas aresubcylindrical, ocular scales separate and rounded. Rostral plate with anterolateral angles rounded and anterior margins transverse (Image 3A).  Dactylus of raptorial claw inflated basally, strongly buttressed and unarmed on inner margin (Image 3E).  Lateral process of TS6 rounded, about as broad as that of TS7.  AS 1-5 are without posterolateral spine.  AS6 with normal complement of carinae, each armed with short spinule.

Telson broader than long, dorsal surface with distinct carinae without numerous spines or spinules, at most with mid-dorsal carinae armed posteriorly (Image 3B).  Accessory median carinaeshort, not extending anteriorly beyond posterior third of median carina, unarmed posteriorly.  Anterior submedian carina inflated but relatively straight, unarmed posteriorly.  TelsonSM teeth are more conspicuous than the IM teeth, with a rounded emargination between the teeth.  SM teeth are with moveable apices and 14 SM denticles (Image 3D).  SM carinae are distinct, unarmed.  IM teeth are distinct; with apices extending posteriorly well beyond the intermediate denticles.  Emargination between SM and IM teeth are acute.  Lateral marginal teethappressed to intermediate teeth.  Proximal segment of uropod with fixed distal spine ventrally, inner margin of exopodasetose, outer margin with 11 movable spines. The entire margins of distal segment are setose, setae arranged in a single row (Image 3C).

Color and Habitat: Conspicuous green color when live. Color faded with traces of green marbling on the telsonand uropods and with rows of small dark green spots on posterior margin of thoracic and abdominal somitesafter preserving with 4% formaldehyde (Images 2A & B).  Shallow water amongst seagrass patches of intertidal region.

Distribution: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, New Caledonia, Samoan, Australia (Ahyong2001) and now from India (Andaman Islands).

 

Discussion

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are located southeast of peninsular India.  They consist of a sequence of about 572 islands, islets, and rocks extending along a north-south direction between 140N and 6.50N latitude in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal (Image 1).  The archipelago has a total coastal line of about 1912km. (ANDFISH 2006).  Because of the large extent of its coast with a wide variety of habitats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a diverse marine fauna.  In the recent epoch numerous fresh reports were produced from this region (Sreerajet al. 2012).  Gonodactylellus viridis reported now is almost the first field observation from the seagrass habitat of Andaman Islands.  The high diversity of associated fauna (Jayabarathi et al. 2012) makes the seagrass habitat of great interest for further ecological studies.  However, knowledge of the stomatopod crustacea of this region has been largely unsatisfactory, therefore, revisions are important to determine the present day biodiversity of this archipelago.  The present findings serve as a preliminary baseline thus important in enhancing this field for future studies.  Current studies reveal that Andaman and Nicobar Islands manifest biodiversity of extraordinary range and thorough documentation of marine biodiversity is essential in understanding the significance of the island ecosystem.

 

 

References

 

ANDFISH (2006). Road map for the development of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. CMFRI, CIFT, CIBA, CARI and Fishery Division ICAR, New Delhi, 89pp.

Ahyong, S.T. (2001). Revision of the Australian stomatopod Crustacea. Records of the Australian Museum (supplement) 26: 1–326; http://dx.doi.org/10.3853/j.0812-7387.26.2001.1333#sthash.DoWuHJsd.dpuf  

Ahyong, S.T. & M.K. Moosa (2004). Stomatopod Crustacea from Anambasand Natuna Islands, South China Sea, Indonesia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology (supplement)11: 61–66.

Cheroske, A.G., T.W. Cronin, M.F. Durham & R.L. Caldwell (2009). Adaptive signaling behaviour in stomatopods under varying light conditions. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 42(4): 219–232; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10236240903169222

Das, H. (1996). Status of seagrass habitats of the Andaman and Nicobar Coast. TechinicalReport No.4. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. Coimbatore, India, 32pp.

Erdmann, M.V. & R.B. Manning (1998). Preliminary descriptions of nine new stomatopod crustaceans from coral reef habitats in Indonesia and Australia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 46: 615–626.

Jayabarathi. R, G. Padmavati& I. Anandavelu (2012). Abundance and species composition of Harpacticoid Copepods from a seagrass patch of South Andaman, India. Current Research Journal of Biological Sciences 4(6): 717–724.

Kannan, L., T. Thangaradjou& P. Anantharaman (1999). Status of seagrasses of India. Seaweed Resource Utilization21(1&2): 25–33.

Manning, R.B. (1998). Stomatopoda, pp. 827–842 In: Carpenter, K.E. & V.H. Niem(eds.). FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of The Western Central Pacific—Volume 2. Cephalopods, Crustaceans, Holothurians and Sharks.Rome, FAO.

Moosa, M.K. (2000). Marine biodiversity of the South China Sea: a checklist of stomatopodcrustacean. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 8: 405–457.

Moosa, M.K. & M. Erdmann (1994). A survey of the stomatopod crustacea of the spermondearchipelago. Torani Marine Science and Technology Bulletin 5: 74–92.

Orth, R.J., K.L. Heck & J.V. Montfrans (1984). Faunal communities in seagrassbeds: a review of the influence of plant structure and prey characteristics on predator-prey relationships. Estuaries 7: 339–350.

Serène, R. (1954). Observationsbiologiquessur les stomatopodes. Mémoires de l’Institut Océanographique de Nhatrang8: 1–93.

Sreeraj, C.R., C. Sivaperuman & C. Raghunathan(2012). An annotated checklist of opisthobranchfauna (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) of the Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(4): 2499–2509; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2783.2499-509

Summerson, H.C. & C.H. Peterson (1984). Role of predation in organizing benthic communities of a temperate-zone seagrass bed. Marine Ecological Progression Series 15: 63–77.

Terrados, J. & C.M. Duarte (2000).Experimental evidence of reduced particle resuspensionwithina Sea Grass (Posidoniaoceanica L.) meadow. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 243(1): 45–53; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0981(99)00110-0

Thangaradjou, T., E.P. Nobi, E. Dilipan, K. Sivakumar & S. Susila (2010). Heavy metal enrichment in seagrasses of Andaman Islands and its implication to the health of the coastal ecosystem. Indian Journal of Marine Sciences 39(1): 85–91.

Virnstein, R.W. & M.C. Curran (1986). Colonization of artificial seagrassversus time and distance from source. Marine Ecological Progression Series 29: 279–288.