Pentapycnon is a genus of sea spiders (class Pycnogonida) in the family Pycnogonidae. As the name of this genus suggests, "Pentapycnon" is among the four genera of sea spiders with five pairs of legs rather than the usual four leg pairs. This genus includes three species: "P. bouvieri", "P. charcoti", and "P. geayi". The species "P. bouvieri" and "P. charcoti" are found in the Southern Ocean, whereas the species "P. geayi" is found in the Caribbean Sea, the tropical Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. The species "P. geayi" is one of only two species of polymerous (i.e., extra-legged) sea spiders found outside the Southern Ocean.
Discovery and taxonomy.
This genus was proposed by the French zoologist Eugène Louis Bouvier in 1910 to contain the newly discovered species "P. charcoti". In 1911, Bouvier described the second species in this genus, "P. geayi". In 1993, A.F. Pushkin described the third species in this genus, "P. bouvieri". In 1994, Christine Stiboy-Risch described "P. magnum" as a new species in this genus. In 1995, the American marine biologist C. Allan Child described another sea spider as a new species in this genus and also named this species "P. bouvieri". Authorities now deem "P. magnum" to be a junior synonym of "P. bouvier" and consider the sea spiders described by Stiboy-Risch and Child to be the same species originally described by Pushkin.
Phylogeny.
Phylogenetic studies of sea spiders based on molecular data find species of "Pentapycnon" nested among species of "Pycnogonum", another genus in the family Pycnogonidae, in a phylogenetic tree of the class Pycnogonida. For example, in 2007, a phylogenetic analysis of 63 species of sea spiders based on morphology and molecular evidence placed the species "Pentapycnon charcoti" in a clade with "Pycnogonum diceros", with this clade forming a sister group for "Pycnogonum stearnsi". Similarly, in 2023, a phylogenetic analysis of 141 species of sea spiders based on molecular data placed "Pentapycnon geayi" in a clade with "Pycnogonum cesairei", with this clade forming a sister group for other species of "Pycnogonum". Thus, the eight-legged genus "Pycnogonum" is paraphyletic with respect to the ten-legged genus "Pentapycnon".
Furthermore, the 2023 study also placed two species of "Pentapycnon" on two different branches of a phylogenetic tree, each with different species of "Pycnogonum" forming a sister group. Thus, the genus "Pentapycnon" is polyphyletic. This evidence indicates that species of "Pentapycnon" descended from ancestors with eight legs and belong in the same genus as their octopodous relatives in "Pycnogonum".
Description.
The sea spiders in the genus "Pentapycnon" feature five pairs of legs but otherwise share the traits exhibited by their octopodous relatives in the genus "Pycnogonum". Species in both of these genera feature trunks that are wide relative to their lengths. These sea spiders also feature thick legs, with large diameters relative to their lengths. The legs are also short relative to the trunk, and the proboscis is stout and no longer than the trunk. Both palps and chelifores are absent in adults, and only males have ovigers.
Several features distinguish "Pentapycnon geayi" from the other two species in the same genus, "P. bouvieri" and "P. charcoti". For example, the surface is markedly reticulated in "P. geayi" but not in the other two species. Furthermore, the ovigers feature nine segments and a slightly curved claw in "P. bouvieri" and "P. charcoti" but only seven segments and a markedly curved claw in "P. geayi".
All three species in this genus can be distinguished based on the shape of the proboscis. In "P. geayi", the proboscis is shaped like a truncated cone that tapers continuously toward the distal end. In "P. bouvieri", the proboscis tapers near the distal end, which features a rounded oral surface. In "P. charcoti", the proboscis is like a cylinder but tapers near the distal end, which features three rounded tubercles.
The three species in this genus also differ in terms of size. The trunk in adults of the species "P. charcoti" ranges from 8.0 mm to 19.8 mm in length. The species "P. bouvieri" is somewhat larger, with a trunk ranging from 18.5 mm to 25.3 mm in length, whereas the species "P. geayi" is notably smaller, with the average trunk measuring only 3.5 mm in length.
Distribution.
The species "P. bouvieri" and "P. charcoti" are both found in the Southern Ocean and are endemic to the Antarctic zone. The species "P. bouvieri" is found in the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea at depths ranging from 90 to 429 meters below the surface. The species "P. charcoti" is found in the Ross Sea and the Scotia Sea and off the Antarctic Penninsula at depths ranging from 218 to 1420 meters below the surface.
The species "P. geayi" has been recorded in the Caribbean Sea, near Costs Rica, and in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, near Puerto Rico, Martinique, French Guiana, Suriname, and Brazil, as well as in the Alboran Sea in the Mediterranean, near the coast of Spain and Gibraltar. Along the Atlantic coast of Brazil, this sea spider has been found off the coast in the states of Pará, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Espírito Santo. This sea spider has been found at depths ranging from 0 to 70 meters below the surface, including specimens collected from tide pools in intertidal sandstone reefs at low tide.
Species.
This genus includes three species: