First record of genus Leptophoxoides Barnard, 1962 (Amphipoda, Amphilochidea, Phoxocephalidae) from the Gulf of Mexico, with a description of a new deepsea species

Abstract

This paper contributes a description of a new deepsea species of benthic amphipod collected from bathyal sediments (2321 m depth) in the Bay of Campeche, southern Gulf of Mexico. Leptophoxoides serejoae sp. nov. can be characterized by having rostrum subequal in length to head width, head dorsal margin with minute setules; antenna 2 article 4 posterior margin expanded, dorsal margin with several setules, ventral margin with 4 plumose setae, 6 long facial setae, 5 dorsal-distal simple setae, and flagellum 12-articulate; maxilla 1 outer plate with 10 bifid apical setae; pereopod 4 coxa the largest, posterodorsal margin strongly excavate, ventral margin with 2 minute cuspids, corner distoventral obtuse; epimeral plate 1 with 2 submarginal teeth processes posterodistally, plate 3 posterior margin strongly convex; telson bilobate, each lobe with one short dorsal plumose seta, one long and another small robust setae, and one setule apically. The new species increases the number of Leptophoxoides species to four and represents the first record of the genus from the Gulf of Mexico. A table of comparison with diagnostic characters from the four Leptophoxoides species is provided.