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PONTONIINAE (DECAPODA, CARIDEA) ASSOCIATED WITH HELIOFUNGIA ACTINIFORMIS (SCLERACTINIA) FROM HANSA BAY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

1998; Volume: 128; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2295-0451

Sammy De Grave,

Marine and fisheries research

A small collection of Pontoniinae (Crustacea, Decapoda, Caridea) from Hansa Bay, northern Papua New Guinea associated with the diurnally active coral species, Heliofungia actini- formis is discussed. Four species are recorded as new to the Papua New Guinea fauna. Morphological details of Periclimenes venustus and I? watamuae are discussed and compared with previous records. Kev words: Pontoniinae, Caridea, Papua New Guinea. Although some of the earliest records of caridean shrimps came from the Papua New Guinea region (BORRADAILE, 1898 ; NOBILI, 1899), the shrimp fauna remains little studied. In a comparison of the Pontoniinae, one of the most speciose groups of Caridea, from Australia and neighbouring regions by BRUCE (1990a) many genera and species, although widespread in the Indo-West Pacific, were not recorded from Papua New Guinea. In recent decades, only very limited collecting has been carried out along the northern coastline of Papua New Guinea. MORGAN (1988) recorded only four species from Madang, which compares quite unfavourably with BRUCE (1981) who recorded 100 species from Heron Island in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef. In view of the widespread nature of coral reefs along the northern coastline of Papua New Guinea (CLAEREBOUDT et al., 1989) and the species richness of coral-biotope-associated Pontoniinae (BRUCE, 1976a), it is expected that many more species, especially the smaller or cryptic ones, await discovery. This report deals with a small collection of Pontoniinae, found associated with the diurnally active coral, Heliofungia actiniformis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833). H. actiniformis is one of only a few corals which have their polyps extended during the day. Five species of Pontoniinae are known to associate with H. actiniformis, only one of which, Periclimenes holthuisi Bruce, 1969 has been recorded previously from the northern coast of Papua New Guinea (BRUCE, 1977a).