124 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 25 8 



Maera vigota, new species 



Figure 21 



Diagnosis. — No body segments dorsally dentate; posterior edge 

 of third pleonal epimeron smooth, slightly convex and sinuous, 

 p os tero ventral corner prolonged into short tooth; coxa 1 not serrate 

 ventrally; article 6 of gnathopod 2 nearly twice as long as broad, 

 palm transverse, with deep excavation at dactylar hinge, remainder 

 of palmar edge slightly concave, prolonged into short tooth at 

 posterior corner, armed with short spines, article 7 with inner basal 

 protuberance; no distal articles of pereopods broadened, article 7 

 lacking accessory claw but bearing accessory setae; uropod 3 short, 

 scarcely exceeding uropod 2, rami broad, truncate; telson short, 

 each lobe broad and deeply notched apically, medial lobule broader 

 and less acute than lateral; flagellar articles of antenna 2 reduced to 

 about 5. Males and females similar. 



Holotype— AHF No. 623, female, 8.0 mm. 



Type locality. — Barnard station 43-B-2, Cayucos, California, 

 January 5-6, 1962, on cobbles buried under small boulders. 



Relationship. — This species differs from Maera pacifica Schellen- 

 berg (1938) by the notched telsonic lobes, the shorter palmar tooth 

 of gnathopod 2 and the absence of accessory claws on the pereopodal 

 dactyls. From M. rathbunae Kunkel (1910) the new species differs 

 in the notched telsonic lobes and the deeper palmar notch at the 

 hinge of gnathopod 2. From M. inaequipes (Costa), as represented by 

 Chevreux and Fage (1925), it differs by the proximal displacement 

 of the palmar hinge-notch of gnathopod 2 and the lack of an accessory 

 claw on the pereopodal dactyls. Maera inaequipes, as represented by 

 J. L. Barnard (1959), may be a distinct taxon differing from the 

 European type by the large lateral lobe and spinosity of article 2 

 on gnathopod 2 and the poorly notched apices of the telsonic lobes. 

 Maera vigota differs from Californian M. "inaequipes" by the lack 

 of accessory pereopodal claws, the absence of a distolateral lobe on 

 article 2 of gnathopod 2, the uniformity of the sexes, the equivalent 

 and strongly truncated rami of uropod 3 and the palmar configuration 

 of gnathopod 2. One specimen of M. inaequipes from Newport Bay 

 (J. L. Barnard, 1959) has the rami of uropod 3 equal to each other 

 in size and two open sea specimens collected in southern California 

 have also been found in this condition. 



Material. — carmel: algal holdfasts, rare, cayucos: buried cob- 

 bles, most abundant species; sponge and tunicates, moderately 

 abundant; between apposed rocks and rocks and substrate, partially 

 desiccated, abundant, pink in color. 



