Decapoda - Brachyura - Sesarmidae - Neosarmatium

Neosarmatium meinerti (De Man, 1887)



World Distribution
Ragioneri et al. (2012: 82, The Raffles Bulletin) - The range of distribution of this species extends into the western Indian Ocean from Mauritius (type locality) to Rodrigues, including the islands Aldabra and Mahé Island belonging to the Seychelles. Possibly also Mayotte, Réunion.

Environnement : Brackish - Substrat/Association : Soft bottom (mud or sand)

Vertical range : Shallow-waters (0-100 m) - Min-Max observed: 0-5 m

Mayotte data
Neosarmatium meinerti (De Man, 1887)
Material examined — See Bouchard et al., 2013: 19, fig. 15 - Mayotte KUW 2009, st. 6, 'Déversoir de Badamier', 1 M 22.4 x 27.3 mm (photos in situ, lab), MNHN B32059, MNHN-IU-2009-978; st. 13, 3 MM 30.0 x 36.4 (photo) to 31.5 x 38.0 mm, MNHN B32038, MNHN-IU-2009-957, 1 sp. about 18 x 22 mm, photo (no specimen).
Other records — Sesarma (Sesarma) meinerti - Guinot, 1967: 288, list with Mayotte. - Neosarmatium meinerti - Bouchard, 2009: 6, 13, Mayotte, Malamani mangrove, 3 MM 30.0 x 35.8 to 33.0 x 39.0 mm, 3 FF 29.5 x 35.5 to 30.4 x 37.0 mm, MNHN B32035, MNHN-IU-2009-954; 3 MM 32.3 x 34.0 to 38.0 x 39.8 mm, 1 F 29.0 x 35.8 mm, MNHN B32036, MNHN-IU-2009-955; 1 M 33.0 x 39.4 mm, 1 F 29.0 x 35.0 mm, MNHN B32037, MNHN-IU-2009-956.
Remarks — Neosarmatium meinerti (De Man, 1887) is a species complex studied by Ragionieri et al. (2009, 2010, 2012). The specimen from Mayotte could belong to N. africanum Ragionieri, Fratini & Schubart, 2012, but the two species N. meinerti and N. africanum were not satisfactorily separted by Bouchard et al. (2013: 20) that can be consulted for additionnal comments.
Geographic and depth ranges (for N. meinerti cf. Ragionieri et al. 2012) — WIO, ?Mayotte, Seychelles (Aldabra, Mahé) to Mauritius, Rodrigues; supratidal, land.

Réunion data
Neosarmatium meinerti - Réunion, west of Island, mudflats, August 2019, observation and photo Nicolas Huet. Determination from photo, to be confirmed with specimen(s). - Huet, 2019: 3, Réunion, Pointe des Trois Bassins; http://www.cahiers-wio.org/ojs/index.php/Cahiers-scientifiques-WIO/article/view/72
New observation N. Huet, 01/2020, Neosarmatiun also present in the North West of Réunion Is., at Sainte Suzanne.

Comment(s) on data
See comments in Bouchard et al. (in press, ARB, p. 20): "Ragionieri et al. (2009) indicate that based on sequences of mitochondrial genes and morphometry Neosarmatium meinerti is a species complex composed by ‘four well structured and geographically defined lineages: East African coast (EAC); western Indian Ocean islands; South East Asia; and Australia’. These lineages are treated as separate species in Ragionieri et al. (2012). Tentatively Mayotte specimens are attributed in this work to N. meinerti, also present in the vicinity (Aldabra Island). However, diagnostic characters between N. meinerti and N. africanum Ragioneri, Fratini & Schubart, 2012 are very similar and do not allow a positive identification. According to Ragionieri (pers. Com.) Mayotte specimens could belong to N. africanum (EAC lineage) that seems to be connected to the West of Madagascar, Mayotte Island probably playing the role of a stepping stone island in this connection. This hypothesis should be confirmed by DNA sequencing."

References : PDF list, 214 pp (1.4 Mo)

This species in Worms Database