Describing new fauna from Western Australia - Joanne Taylor and Anna McCallum, Museum Victoria - CERF Biodiversity Program

With any survey of Australia’s deeper waters comes the discovery of new species. The taxonomic description of these species is essential to further our understanding of biodiversity. 

As reported in the July 2009 newsletter (see article by Gary Poore), at least one third of the decapod species sampled from the continental slope of Western Australia are new to science. These collections reside at Museum Victoria and we are actively promoting them for taxonomic and phylogenetic research. While one new species of pontoniine shrimp has been described, there are many more shrimp families requiring work and a paucity of Australian expertise. With this in mind, Collection Manager Joanne Taylor and PhD student Anna McCallum have joined forces to look in detail at two families of shrimp.

Joanne has found that for the crangonid sand shrimps, those collected from southern Western Australian sites are mostly new species, whereas those from the North West shelf are species described from the Indo Pacific region. For the genus Philocheras, for example, a thorough study of eight species collected from the continental shelf of WA has resulted in the discovery of one new species, five new records for Australian waters, and a range extension within Australia for two other species. These records expand the number of Philocheras species previously recorded from Australian waters from 10 to 16. Joanne has also been examining specimens belonging to the rare sand shrimp genus Lissosabinea. There are currently only five species described worldwide and these new collections have uncovered a sixth species new to science from the south west shelf, as well as the first records of two species in Australian waters off the north west shelf: species previously known only from the Indo Pacific region.

Anna described two species of shrimp from the genus Lebbeus (Family Hippolytidae). Although 47 species of Lebbeus exist worldwide, only one species has so far been described from Australia. The shrimp species from the Western Australia slope were very similar to slope species from Japan and NSW, but unique in their distinctive colour and carapace shape. The unusual appearance of the south-west shrimp earned it some media attention when the opportunity to choose its new name was auctioned to the public (see news article earlier in this newsletter - “Olympic basketball star names deep sea shrimp”). Anna described two species of shrimp from the genus Lebbeus (Family Hippolytidae). Although 47 species of Lebbeus exist worldwide, only one species has so far been described from Australia. The shrimp species from the Western Australia slope were very similar to slope species from Japan and NSW, but unique in their distinctive colour and carapace shape.

Joanne and Anna’s findings are soon to be published in a special volume of the International Journal Zootaxa dedicated to shrimp research which will be available online in late 2009.

Lebbeus spp

References:

Bruce, A. J., 2008. Palaemonoid shrimps from the Australian north west shelf. Zootaxa, 1815: 1-24. 

Taylor, J., (in press). The sand shrimp genus Philocheras (Caridea: Crangonidae) from the continental margin of Western Australia including descriptions of a new species and a key to Australian species. Zootaxa.

Taylor, J., & Collins, D.J. (in press). New records of the shrimp genus Lissosabinea (Caridea: Crangonidae) from Australia including descriptions of three new species and a key to world species. Memoirs of Museum Victoria.

McCallum, A.W. & Poore, G.C.B. (in press). Two crested and colourful new species of Lebbeus (Crustacea: Caridea: Hippolytidae) from the continental margin of Western Australia. Zootaxa.

See other publications, abstracts, posters and fact sheets on our website http://www.nerpmarine.edu.au/documents-publications