Species Anoplodactylus cribellatus Calman, 1923

Museums

Regional Maps

• Anoplodactylus cribellatus Calman, W.T. 1923. Pycnogonida of the Indian Museum. Records of the Indian Museum 25(3): 265-299 [285].

  Type data:

   Status unknown, Port Blair, Andaman Sea [11° 40' 12" N, 92° 45' 36" E].
• Anoplodactylus simplex Clark, W.C. 1963. Australian Pycnogonida. Records of the Australian Museum 26(1): 1-81 [50].

  Type data:

   Paratype(s) AM P.8938, Shallow Bay, Tasman Sea [33° 58' 12" S, 151° 10' 12" E].
• Anoplodactylus perforatus Nakamura, K. & Child, A.C. 1982. Three new species of Pycnognida from Sagami Bay, Japan. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 95(2): 282-291.

  Type data:

   Status unknown, USNM 184564 - 184566 3 specs, Nabeta Bay, Pacific Ocean [34° 39' 36" N, 138° 56' 24" E].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Bamber, R.N. 1997. Two Pycnogonids from the Coral Sea region: A new Callipallene and a reassessment of the Anoplodactylus cribellatus complex. Species Diversity 2: 43-50

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Timor Province (2), Cape Province (20), Norfolk Island Province (21), Cocos (Keeling) Island Province (22), Christmas Island Province (23), Macquarie Island Province (24), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Northwest Transition (3), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (32), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Ecological Descriptors

Adults: coral reef, estuary, low intertidal, subtidal.

Taxonomic Notes

Child (1998C) provides a list of 21 species of Anoplodactylus arranged by number of cement gland openings. Anoplodactylus cribellatus falls into the fourth category: cement glands with more than 10 openings per femur.

Bamber (1997) synonymizes Anoplodactylus simplex and A. perforatus under A. cribellatus. He appears to have done this only on the basis of species descriptions in the literature and by comparing newly collected specimens from New Caledonia and the Great Barrier Reef wiith these literature descriptions. He does not appear to have consulted the original type specimens in each case although he did have Daviid Staples re-examine specimens identified as A. simplex from the National Museum of Victoria collection. It is doubtful whether these were type specimens since Clark (1963) deposited the types for A. simplex in the Australian Museum. If any types were examined, then Bamber (1997) should have clearly stated this. Given the above problems and in the absence of well defined criteria for separating pycnogonid species, I prefer to leave the above species as separate at this time.

General References

Bamber, R.N. 1997. Two Pycnogonids from the Coral Sea region: A new Callipallene and a reassessment of the Anoplodactylus cribellatus complex. Species Diversity 2: 43-50 [46-49] (synonymized with suimplex and perforatus)

Bamber, R.N. 2008. Sea-spiders (Arthropoda: Pycnogonida) of Moreton Bay, Queensland. pp. 131-142 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. (eds). Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop. The Marine Flora and Fauna of Moreton Bay, Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(1) [138] (new records, notes)

History of changes