Cumella (Cumella) abacoensis

Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Malacostraca
Order Cumacea
Family Nannastacidae

Cumella (Cumella) abacoensis Petrescu, 1996

Taxonomic Characterization: A small cumacean with a hairy integument. The carapace is 0.3 times the total body length. The ocelli crown consists of 5 lenses. The notch is distinct. Pereiopod II has a relatively short dactyl. The uropods are the pleotelson. The endopodite is as long as the exopodite on the female and a little longer on the male. C. abacoensis can be distinguished from other Cumella by the following characteristics:

Carapace without dorsal spines.
Slender antennula.
Maxillula with setulated filament.
Maxilliped 3 with more spines.
Uropodal peduncle and endopodite with fewer spines.

Disposition of Specimens: Grigore Antipa, Natural History Museum, inventory number 49,581-3.

Ecological Classification: Probably stygophilic (troglophilic)

Size: The female holotype's length was 1.72 mm; male paratype's was 1.94 mm.

Number of Species in Genus: More than 60 species are included in the genus Cumella, the subgenus Cumella is the most numerous (about 40). None are known to be stygobitic.

Subgenus Cumella Range:

Bahamas:
- Abaco Island Blue Hole: C. abacoensis Petrescu, 1996
- North Andros Island Blue Holes: C. andri Petrescu & Iliffe, 1992; C. radui Petrescu & Iliffe, 1992; C. bahamensis Petrescu & Iliffe, 1992
Caribbean: C. antipai Petrescu, Iliffe, & Sarbu, 1994; C. coralicola Bacescu, 1971; C. gomoiui Bacescu & Muradian, 1977; C. amaicensis Petrescu, Iliffe, & Sarbu, 1994; C. longicaudata Petrescu, Iliffe, & Sarbu, 1994
Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia: C. arguta Gamo, 1962; C. cana Hale, 1945; C. gibba Zimmer, 1914; C. laevis Calman, 1911
Mediterranean, Black Sea: C. pygmaea Sars, 1865; C. pygmaea euxinica Bacescu, 1950
Deep Atlantic: C. concinna Jones, 1984; C. decipiens Jones, 1984; C. meridionalis Jones, 1984

Species Range: Lower Rock Blowing Hole, Cherokee Sound, Abaco Island, Bahamas

Closest Related Species: Species from the Western Atlantic, C. garrittyi Bacescu & Muradian, 1977; and C. gomoiui Bacescu & Muradian, 1977. Also, C. polita Jones, 1984 from the Florida coasts and the Caribbean Sea

Habitat: Marine limestone caves

Ecology: Collected from the surface of a coarse shell hash on the floor of the passage, 30-60 m inside the cave entrance at 18 m waters depths, salinity-fully marine, water temperature: 24.4慢. The cave entrance consists of 10 m diameter vertical shaft starting in a 3 m water depth and descending to 10 m depth. The main passage slopes gradually down to 18 m depth and continues for a least 100 m as a 2-3 m high conduit with a coarse sand bottom and irregular walls. At the time of the collections, a strong tidal current was flowing into the cave. Many sponges were present on the walls and several nurse sharks congregated near the entrance. Copepods, ostracods, amphipods, tanaidaceans, shrimps and archiannelids were also collected (Petrescu, 1996).

Evolutionary Origins: Probably originated from an open water ancestor.

Conservation Status: Restricted to Lower Rock Blowing Hole, Abaco Island, Bahamas.

Reference:

Bacescu, M. and Z. Muradian. 1977. Species of the genus Cumella (Crustacea, Nannastacidae) from the Western Tropical Atlantic, Travaux du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa, 18:89-102.
Calman, W.T. 1911. On new or rare crustacea of the order Cumacea from the collection of the Copenhagen Museum. Part II. The families Nannastacidae and Diastylidae. Trans. zool. Soc. Land, 18:341-400.
Petrescu, I. and T.M. Iliffe. 1992. Contributions to the knowledge of the cumacean species (Crustacea, Cumacea) of British Blue Holes (Andros Island, Bahamas Islands). Travaux du Museum d'Historie Naturelle Grigore Antipa, 32: 283-301, 10 figures.
Petrescu, I. 1996. Cumaceans (Crustacea: Cumacea) from Abaco Islands (Bahamas). Travaux du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle Grigore Antipa, 36:157-183, 14 figures.

The Cumacean Page contains information on systematics, ecology, and biogeography of the cumaceans of the World. It is one part of a PEET project (Partnerships for Enhancing Expertise in Taxonomy) funded by the Systematic Biology Program of the United States National Science Foundation.

Contributor: Iorgu Petrescu, Grigore Antipa Museum of Natural History, Bucharest, Romania