Decapoda - Caridea - Rhynchocinetidae - Rhynchocinetes

Rhynchocinetes conspiciocellus (?) Okuno & Takeda, 1992



World Distribution
Described from Japan. Probably IWP based on photographs (Philippines, New Caledonia, Réunion).
R. brucei: 4-20 m (in Okuno, 1994), R. conspiciocellus: 0.5-10 m (in Okuno & Takeda, 1992). In Thiel et al. (2019, JCB) approximately 5-30 m depth. Perhaps to 70-80 m (cf. Mayotte photos).

Environnement : Marine - Substrat/Association : Hard bottom (rock and rubbles)

Vertical range : Shallow-waters (0-100 m) - Min-Max observed: 4-75 m

Mayotte data
Rhynchocinetes ? conspiciocellus - Poupin et al., 2022, Naturae, MNHN, https://doi.org/10.5852/naturae2022a8 : 139 - Mayotte, 70-80 m, photos Barathieu.
KWD - Mesophotic, Det uncertain, First for Mayotte, Deepest record

Comment 2023 - Rhynchocinetes brucei Okuno, 1994 is another candidate, with almost similar color pattern (see under that species).

Réunion data
Rhynchocinetes sp. - Ribes-Beaudemoulin et al. 2002 : 82 (Réunion). - Rhynchocinetes cf. conspiciocellus - Mission Poupin, avril 2008 (D'après photographie de L. Bêche, A. Diringer, F. Trentin, E. Lancelot).

Comment 2023 - Rhynchocinetes brucei Okuno, 1994 is another candidate, with almost similar color pattern (see under that species).

New Caledonia data
Rhynchocinetes aff. conspiciocellus - Juncker & Poupin, 2009, CRISP report. From photographs. Probably a new species the color pattern differ slightly from those observed in Réunion and Mayotte.

Comment(s) on data
Pre-det. from photos only (J. Poupin) at Réunion, Mayotte, and New Caledonia. Pending examination of specimens these observations are attributed to Rhynchocinetes ?conspiciocellus, based on banded color pattern of body and presence of a large dark median spot on the third abdominal segment. However, such a dark spot is also present on a related species described from Australia (Heron, Lizard Is.), Hong Kong, Philippines (aquarium trader), Rhynchocinetes brucei Okuno, 1994. These two species are more or less similar for their color pattern and differ only by the number of arthrobranchs and lobe on the outer margin of the endopod of the first pleopod in males (cf. Okuno, 1994). Such characters cannot be checked on photographs only. A third species has also a color pattern that more or less matches (especially for dark abdominal spot) R. conspiciocellus and R. brucei, R. rathbunae Okuno, 1996, endemic from Hawaii. In the latter, however, the bands on the body are thicker (obvious on photo in Hoover, 1999: 238; less obvious on photo in Debelius, 2001: 167).
Comment 2023 - See photo of Rhynchocinetes brucei Okuno, 1994, another candidate, with almost similar color pattern, included in this database (from Chan et al. 2021, fig. 8A).

References : PDF list, 214 pp (1.4 Mo)

This species in Worms Database