6 - Sphaeromatidae::“Cute As Buttons”

120 FLABELLIFERA • AEG1DAE
Rocinela cubensis Richardson, 1898
Figure 52A
DIAGNOSIS 6 16 mm. Cephalon with two small tubercles between well-
separated eyes; rostrum broadly rounded, extending anteriorly, very ob­
vious. Flagellum of antenna with about 15 articles. Propodi of pereopods 1-3
with two spines. Pleotelson basally wider than middorsal length, lateral mar­
gins convex, apex rounded.
RECORDS Off Cuba, 290 m.
Rocinela insularis Schioedte and Meinert, 1879
Figure 52B
DIAGNOSIS Ovigerous 9 24.5 mm. Eyes medially barely separated but not
contiguous. Flagellum of antenna of more than 12 articles. Propodus of per­
eopods 1-3 with two to four spines on posterior lobe. Uropodal endopod
barely reaching beyond pleotelsonic apex. Pleotelson basally slightly wider
than middorsal length, lateral margins convex, apex rounded.
RECORDS Florida Keys; West Indies; between Mississippi delta and west
coast of Florida, Gulf of Mexico; 550 m.
Rocinela oculata Harger, 1883
Figure 52C
DIAGNOSIS 9 21.0 mm. Eyes contiguous. Cephalon with rostrum truncate
in dorsal view. Antennal flagellum with 12 articles. Propodi of pereopods 1-3
with six to eight spines on lobed posterior margin. Pleotelson with basal
width subequal to middorsal length; posterior margin broadly rounded.
RECORDS Off Georgia; Gulf Stream off Florida, 360-400 m; Puerto Rico,
84 m; Gulf of Mexico, 380-750 m.
New South Wales, Queensland, Australia, 450-630 m.
Rocinela signata Schioedte and Meinert, 1879
Figure 52D
DIAGNOSIS Ovigerous 9 13.0-15.0 mm. Cephalon anteriorly broadly tri­
angular, produced over bases of antennules. Eyes widely separate. Flagellum
of antenna with 10 or 11 articles. Pereopods 1—3, propodi unarmed or with