Decapoda - Brachyura - Majidae - Micippa
| Micippa thalia (Herbst, 1803) |
World Distribution
Sakai (1994 - CD) - Indo-ouest Pacifique. Mer Rouge, Afrique orientale, Somalie, Mozambique, Afrique du Sud, Madagascar, Maurice, Pakistan, Inde, Mergui, Indonésie, golfe de Thailande, Corée, Japon, Australie (2-100 m). Mayotte, premier signalement.
Environnement : Marine - Substrat/Association : Hard bottom (rock and rubbles)
Vertical range : Shallow-waters (0-100 m) - Min-Max observed: 1-100 m
Mayotte data
Micippa thalia (Herbst, 1803)
Material examined — Mayotte KUW 2009, coll. J. -M. Bouchard 31/01/2009?, same place that KUW st. 26, st. Mliha, Mutsumbatsou reef, intertidal, under rubbles, 1 F juv. 7.5 x 5.3 mm ; MNHN B32529, MNHN-IU-2009-1289; st. 26, 1 F ov. 19.1 x 14 mm, photo, MNHN B32530, MNHN-IU-2009-1290.
Remarks — These specimens are distinct from Micippa platipes collected at same station (st. 26) by the absence of lateral horns on rostral spines. Following key in Griffin & Tranter (1986: 274) and characters and drawings in Chen (1979) they ressembles Micippa xishaensis Chen, 1979 by: spines on antero-lateral margin of carapace reduced to granules; postorbital lobe with a large lobe on posterior margin basally; and basal antennal segment smooth with a distinct spine at antero-mesial angle. However, Chen species is closely affiliated to widely distributed M. thalia and has been described from a single male, without appreciation of individual morphological variations. It seems therefore prudent to consider that specimens examined herein from Mayotte are M. thalia, a species already reported in nearby Madagascar. Moreover, the type specimen of M. thalia is photographed in Sakai (1999 : pl. 13E) and shows a good agreement with Mayotte specimens, especially for aspect of antero-lateral margins of the carapace.
Geographic and depth ranges — Red Sea, Mayotte (this work), South Africa to Japan, northeastern Australia; intertidal to 100 m.
New Caledonia data
Nouvelle Caledonie, STATION — Edwards AM, Nouv Arch MNHN 8: 229-267
References : PDF list, 214 pp (1.4 Mo)This species in Worms Database