Meeting Abstract

41.5  Monday, Jan. 5  First report of Orthione griffenis Markham, 2004 (Isopoda: Bopyridae: Pseudioninae) from China and comparison with types specimens and collections from the west coast of the United States WILLIAMS, J. D.*; AN, J.; Hofstra Univ., New York biojdw@hofstra.edu

Orthione griffenis Markham, 2004 was originally described from thalassinid mudshrimp hosts collected in Oregon. Subsequently, O. griffenis has been cited as a nonindigenous species in the Northwest Pacific (NWP); however, no taxonomic work has provided evidence that specimens from the NWP and any foreign locality are conspecific. We report the first record of O. griffenis from Chinese waters based on collections made in the late 1950s, which pre-date any records of the species from the NWP by at least 20 years. Females of the Chinese specimens match the original description except in the number of articles on antennae 2 (6 and 5 articles in the Chinese and NWP samples, respectively). Although males of O. griffenis from Oregon were originally described as having second antennae with 5 articles, reexamination of the allotype showed that antennae 2 were damaged and missing terminal articles. Thus, the number of articles in the second antennae of males is 6, as found in both the Chinese and new NWP samples. SEM of males from the NWP and China revealed curled setae at distolateral uropod margins, which were not reported in the original description. In China the species is found on the hosts Austinogebia wuhsienweni Yu and Upogebia sp. from Shandong province, whereas along the west of coast of the United States the species extends from California to British Columbia on Upogebia macgniteorum Williams and U. pugettensis (Dana); the species has also been reported from Japan. SEM studies on the morphology of the epicaridium larvae will be presented, along with additional notes on the reproduction and natural history of the species.