Synalpheus rathbunae Coutière, 1909

Anker, Arthur, Pachelle, Paulo P. G., Grave, Sammy De & Hultgren, Kristin M., 2012, 3598, Zootaxa 3598 (1), pp. 1-96 : 64-65

Synalpheus rathbunae Coutière, 1909

( Fig. 43 )

Synalpheus rathbunae Coutière 1909: 84 , fig. 51; (?) Schmitt 1935: 151; (?) Pearse 1950: 150; Chace 1972: 103 (partim);

Dardeau 1984: 103; (?) Abele & Kim 1986: 201, 218–219, figs h–j; Duffy 1992: 131 (partim); Duffy 1996: 308 (partim);

(?) Hernández Aguilera et al. 1996: 39. Synalpheus Rathbunae — Monod 1939: 557, 558, figs 1, 2.? Synalpheus near rathbunae — Schmitt 1939: 28. Zuzalpheus rathbunae — Ríos & Duffy 2007: 59, fig. 26B.? Synalpheus laevimanus longicarpus — Rathbun 1901: 110 (partim). [not S. longicarpus ( Herrick, 1891) ].

Material examined. St. Martin: 1 colony member = male-looking individual, FLMNH UF 32267 , Réserve Naturelle de Saint-Martin, sta. 40, Circus dive site off Tintamarre Island, coral reef, under large coral debris on siltsand bottom, 13–17 m, in unidentified sponge [host fcn BSTM-1175], coll. G. Paulay et al., 19.04.2012 [fcn BSTM-1130*]; 1 colony member = male-looking individual, FLMNH UF 32269 , same collection data [fcn BSTM- 1132*]; 1 colony member = male-looking individual, FLMNH UF 32268 , same collection data [fcn BSTM-1131*]; 7 colony members = male-looking individuals, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-112, same collection data [fcn BSTM-1133] .

Description. For detailed description and illustrations see Coutière (1909); additional drawings in Monod (1939) and Ríos & Duffy (2007).

Size range. Most colony members under 3.0 mm cl; maximum cl 3.2 mm.

Colour in life. Semitransparent with pale orange tinge and some reddish chromatophores; major chela darker orange distally ( Fig. 43 ).

Type locality. St. Thomas .

Distribution. Western Atlantic: Caribbean Sea: St. Thomas, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Panama; possibly also in Mexico and Florida ( Ríos & Duffy 2007; Coutière 1909; present study; see map in Fig. 52 ).

Ecology. Coral reef with abundant coral rubble and cryptic sponges; depth range around 10–55 m ( Coutière 1909; present study); living in small social groups in crytic sponges.

Remarks. Synalpheus rathbunae is closely related to another social species, S. regalis (see below), differing from it mainly in the shape of the pleura. In S. rathbunae , the pleurae are elongate and pointed and the proximal angle of the first pleuron is rounded ( Ríos & Duffy 2007: fig. 26B). In S. regalis , the pleurae are not elongate, only some are pointed, and the proximal angle of the first pleuron is acutely produced anteriorly ( Ríos & Duffy 2007: fig. 26A). Some “males” from St. Martin were carrying apparently infertile eggs (see under S. brooksi ).

Figures

FIGURE 43. Synalpheus rathbunae Coutière, 1909: colony member from St. Martin (FLMNH UF 32269), in dorsal (a) and lateral (b) views. Photographs by A. Anker.

FIGURE 52. Presently known geographic ranges of Synalpheus hoetjesi Hultgren, Macdonald & Duffy, 2010; S. idios (Ríos & Duffy, 2007); S. kensleyi (Ríos & Duffy, 2007); S. cf. longicarpus (Herrick, 1891); S. obtusifrons Chace, 1972; S. pandionis Coutière, 1909; S. parfaiti Coutière, 1898; S. pectiniger Coutière, 1909; S. rathbunae Coutière, 1909; S. regalis Duffy, 1996; S. sanctithomae Coutière, 1909; S. scaphoceris Coutière, 1910; S. senegambiensis Coutière, 1908; S. townsendi Coutière, 1909; S. ul (Ríos & Duffy, 2007) and S. yano (Ríos & Duffy, 2007).