Two new species and other records of sea spiders (Pycnogonida: Arthropoda) from tropical North Queensland

Abstract

Five species of sea spiders found among the green intertidal algae Cladophora prolifera (Roth) and the coastal soft bottoms of Cleveland Bay off Townsville, are reported. Two new species are described; Ammothella fistella sp. nov., an extremely small species differentiated by its size and general body shape. Three species of Anoplodactylus are also recorded, A. glandulifer a widely distributed species, A. cribellatus, a recent synonym of the Australian A. simplex, and A. tubiferus, a long-known species from the West-Pacific. The finding of undescribed species in the alga C. prolifera encourages the interest on intertidal habitats that might serve as shelter for possibly many others small to tiny pycnogonids.