Synalpheus sanctithomae Coutière, 1909

Anker, Arthur, Pachelle, Paulo P. G., Grave, Sammy De & Hultgren, Kristin M., 2012, 3598, Zootaxa 3598 (1), pp. 1-96 : 66

Synalpheus sanctithomae Coutière, 1909

Synalpheus sanctithomae Coutière 1909: 61 , fig. 35; Schmitt 1935: 151; Chace 1972: 104; Christoffersen 1979: 352, figs 29, 30; Gore 1981: 152; Westinga & Hoetjes 1981: 142; Dardeau 1984: 104; Abele & Kim 1986: 202, 220–221, figs d, e; Rodríguez 1986: 208, fig. 49; Christoffersen 1998: 363; Coelho et al. 2006: 53; Macdonald et al. 2006: 170; Hultgren et al. 2010: 251, pl. 5F.

Zuzalpheus sanctithomae — Ríos & Duffy 2007: 62 , pl. 5.

Not Synalpheus sanctithomae — Bezerra & Coelho 2006: 701 (= S. townsendi Coutière, 1909 ).

Material examined. Honduras: 1 male, OUMNH. ZC.2007-20-083, Utila, Honda, Little Bus Seamount, 16°04.470' N 086°54.821' W, rubble, possibly inside cryptic sponge, 15 m, coll. A. Anker, S. De Grave, 08.07.2007 [fcn H244*] .

Description. For description and illustrations see Coutière (1909) and Dardeau (1984); see also Ríos & Duffy (2007).

Size range. The single examined male is 3.0 mm cl; the largest known specimens of this species are 3.2 mm cl in “males” (non-ovigerous specimens) and 3.9 mm cl in ovigerous females (Hultgren et al. 2010).

Colour in life. Orange, sometimes with orange-tipped chelae; ovaries in females green to greenish-brown (Hultgren et al. 2010).

Type locality. St. Thomas .

Distribution. Western Atlantic: Florida [Florida Keys]; Caribbean Sea: St. Thomas, Curaçao, Venezuela [Los Roques], Honduras [Utila]; Brazil: Pernambuco, Bahia, Atol das Rocas ( Coutière 1909; Christoffersen 1979, 1998; Dardeau 1984; Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos & Duffy 2007; Hultgren et al. 2010; present study; see map in Fig. 52 ).

Ecology. Shallow coral reefs; depth range 1–20 m; obligate sponge symbiont found in a range of different hosts, e.g., Hymeniacidon caerulea (most common), Agelas cf. clathrodes , Hyattella intestinalis , and Xestospongia subtriangularis (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos & Duffy 2007; Hultgren et al. 2010); typically in heterosexual pairs. A single record ( Rodríguez 1986) of S. sanctithomae from the coral Agaricia agaricites requires confirmation.

Remarks. The Utila specimen represents the first record of this apparently widespead but relatively uncommon species from Honduras. Bezerra & Coelho (2006) reported S. sanctithomae from off Ceará, but their material was re-examined and found to be S. townsendi .

Figures

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).