The amphipod genus Aora in British and Irish waters

Extract

Aora spinicornis Afonso is recorded for the first time from the British Isles. Two species of Aora, A. gracilis (Bate) and A. spinicornis Afonso are now known from these waters. A. typica Krøyer, long considered a British and Irish species, is actually known only from the Southern Hemisphere. Figures and diagnoses of both species are provided together with a key to their identification.

Introduction

Lincoln (1979) records one species of Aora Kreyer from British and Irish waters. Due to an oversight (Lincoln, personal communication) he overlooked the paper by Myers (1973) (although listed in the bibliography) and attributed the single species to A. typica Krøyer, a species actually known only from the Southern Ocean between 20° S and 50° S (see Myers & Moore, 1983 which also includes a key to the world species). Two species of Aora are now known from the British Isles: A gracilis (Bate) which is widely distributed, and A. spinicornis Afonso, recently discovered in Lough Hyne, Co. Cork, and herein reported for the first time from these waters. This latter species has a Lusitanian distribution (Azores, Canaries, Mediterranean) and may occur in south-western England and Wales, but has been confused previously with A.gracilis (Bate). Both species have been described and figured by Myers (1973, 1982) and do not require further detailed analysis. However, since both species are now known to occur in these waters and are not both treated by Lincoln's widely used monograph, the two species are figured here as entire specimens (for details of appendages including mouthparts see Myers, 1982) and briefly diagnosed, and a key is provided to facilitate their identification by British and Irish workers.