Cubanomysis Bacescu 1968

Cubanomysis Băcescu, 1968

The genus Cubanomysis Băcescu, 1968, was proposed to accommodate a small (3.5‒4.5 mm TL) mysid shrimp, C. jimenesi Băcescu, 1968, collected from Marianao, close to La Havana, Cuba. According to Băcescu (1968), this species was very abundant and, in addition to the holotype, 40 paratypes were deposited in the holdings of the Grigore Antipa Museum collection, in Bucharest, Romania. The illustrations provided by Băcescu (1968: fig. 1) are very precise and include a dorsal view of the left eye and the antennule of a male, the maxilla, the antenna and antennal scale, the first pereiopod, the pleopods 1 (part), 3 and 4 of a male, the pleopod 5 of a female, the uropods, and the telson. In addition, Brattegard (1973) provided several illustrations of the same species (misspelled as C. jimenezi) based on material collected in eastern Colombia: (male) forehead, antennal peduncle and scale, pleopods 1 and 4, and telson; (female) dorsal and ventral view of the telson and tip of the same. Brattegard (1973: 19) emphasized on the similarity between the Cuba and the Colombia material, except for a slightly different interpretation of the setal pattern of the distal end of the telson. In their review of the mysids of the Bermudas to the Caribbean Sea, Ortiz et al. (2012: fig. 11A, B) refer only to the genus Cubanomysis while Ortiz & Lalana (2017) included C. jimenesi in a checklist and provided illustration of the cephalon and telson.

The second species of the genus, C. mysteriosa Gleye, 1982, was described from southern California, USA, based on five specimens collected at San Onofre Beach, in 8 m depth. Illustrations provided by Gleye (1982: figs. 1‒2), however, are of very poor quality; these included a lateral view of the body of a female and the frontal section of the carapace with appendages, the antennal peduncle and scale, the right mandibular palp, the maxilla, the distal portion of the thoracopods 1 and 2 endopod, pleopods 1 and 4, telson, and the uropodal endopod and exopod of a male. Unfortunately, the type material of C. mysteriosa (USNM 184074 and 184075) could not be examined. Although the quality of the drawings provided by Gleye (1982) is poor, characters of diagnostic value are clearly presented in the text.

According to Gleye (1982), C. mysteriosa is closely allied to C. jimenesi but “... differs from the latter in the following features: more robust form of the endopods of the first and second thoracic appendages; setation of the last article of the endopod of the second thoracic limb; spination rather than serration of the terminal seta of the exopod of the fourth pleopod of the adult male; and spination of the telson”.

Two males and one female of a species identifiable with the genus Cubanomysis were collected during this study and represent a new species which is described herein.