Pleurocope wilsoni Kensley & Schotte 2002, sp. nov.

Pleurocope wilsoni sp. nov.

(gure 8)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: USNM 253308, ovigerous 1.0 mm, IIOE cruise 1, sta 18A, oV Phuket Island, Thailand, 7ss34¾N, 98ss00¾E, 77 m, 21 March 1963. PARATYPES: USNM 253309, three ovigerous, one, same data as holotype; USNM 253310, one 0.6 mm, sta JDT-AL-13, coral rubble on fore-reef, Picard Island, Aldabra, 9ss24¾S, 46ss12¾E, 10 April 1983.

Other material. USNM 253311, one ovigerous, two, coral rubble from two stations on reef slope, Picard Island, Aldabra, 6–16 m.

Diagnosis. Pereonite 1, lateral lobe bearing single spine; pereonites 2 and 3 each bearing two setae; pereonite 4 lacking lateral lobe or setae; pereonites 5 and 6 each with two setae on lateral lobe; pereonite 7 lacking lateral lobe and setae. Pleon length twice basal width. Mesial lobe of antennal peduncle article 3 bearing seven setae. Pleopod 1, each ramus bearing four distal setae. Uropodal protopod with two distal setae; exopod with two distal setae; endopod with single distal seta.

Remarks. Two species of Pleurocope have been described: P. dasyura Walker, 1901 (the type species), from the Mediterranean, and P. oridensis Hooker, 1985, from the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Pleurocope wilsoni diVers from both in lacking a lateral lobe and setae on pereonite 4. Pleurocope dasyura lacks a lobe on pereonite 4, but does have a single seta, and possesses three, rather than two setae on the lateral lobes of pereonites 2–3 and 5–6. Pleurocope oridensis lacks a lobe and setae on the rst pereonite.

Etymology. The species is named for Dr George (Buz) Wilson of the Australian Museum, in recognition of his research on isopods.