Synalpheus agelas Pequegnat & Heard, 1979

Material examined: Pernambuco—Continental Shelf off Recife: 1 M, 27.ii.2018, 8°13′52.1′′S 34°37′39.1′′W, 50.8 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7049 ; 1 M, same data as DZ/ UFRGS 7049, in sponge, MOUFPE 21542; Fernando de Noronha: 2 M, 6 F, Ressureta, 19.vi.2019, 03°49.191′S 32°23.847′W, 8.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 6710 ; 2 M, 3 F, Cagarras, 25.vi.2022, 03°50.933′S 32°26.178′W, 13.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7025 ; 1 M, 3 F, Ressureta, 25.vi.2022, 03°50.933′S 32°26.178′W, 8.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7028 ; 3 M, 3 OV, 5 F, Buraco do Inferno, 26.vi.2022, 03°48.968′S 32°23.577′W, 12.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7029 ; 10 M, 3 OV, 6 F, Ilha do Meio, 26.vi.2022, 03°49.015′S 32°23.549′W, 11.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7035 ; 6 M, 4 OV, 2 F, Ponta da Sapata, 30.vi.2022, 03º51.892′S 32º27.965′W, 11.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7040 ; 9 M, 4 OV, 1 F, Laje Dois Irmãos, 30.vi.2022, 03°51.859′S 32°27.934′W, 17.0 m depth, in sponge, DZ / UFRGS 7044 .

Description: Pequegnat & Heard (1979), Ríos & Duffy (2007), and Anker et al. (2012).

Distribution: Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Belize, Jamaica, Panama, Curaçao, Barbados, and Brazil (Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, seamounts of North Chain, Trindade & Martin Vaz Archipelago, and from Amapá to Espírito Santo) (Coelho-Filho 2006; Ríos & Duffy, 2007; Hultgren et al. 2011; Anker et al. 2012, 2016; this study).

Ecology: In coral reefs, coral rubble, and similar habitats in sublittoral areas with sponges abundant; commonly inhabiting sponges of the genus Agelas Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1864 (Anker et al. 2016); forming heterosexual pairs; 5– 80 m (Anker et al. 2016; this study). Sampled at continental shelf off Recife (DZ/UFRGS 7049; MOUFPE 21542) in a substrate of sediment, macroalgae, coral rubble, and sponges.

Remarks: The examined material was sampled at a depth of 8 m in Fernando de Noronha and between 50.8 and 80 m on the continental shelf off Recife, extending the bathymetric range of this species from 56 m (Anker et al. 2016) to 80 m. One specimen (male, DZ/UFRGS 7044) exhibited a slight morphological variation in the fixed finger of the major chela, which was much shorter than the dactylus (vs. slightly shorter in length in Pequegnat & Heard 1979) (see Pequegnat & Heard 1979, Figs. 3A, B).