Synalpheus ul (Ríos & Duffy, 2007)

Zuzalpheus ul Ríos & Duffy 2007: 63, figs. 27–30, pl. 5.

Synalpheus ul— Macdonald et al. 2009: 50; Hultgren et al. 2010: 234, 251, fig. 9A–F, pl. 6A–D; Almeida et al. 2012: 19, figs. 6–8; Anker et al. 2012: 72, figs. 47–49.

Synalpheus cf. pandionis— Almeida et al. 2007: 15, figs. 3, 4 (not S. pandionis Coutière 1909, see Almeida et al. 2012).

Synalpheus yano— Macdonald et al. 2009: 51, pl. 6A, B (not S. yano (Ríos & Duffy, 2007), see Hultgren & Duffy 2010: p. 3).

Material examined. 3 males (cl 6.4, 6.1, 3.6 mm), Brazil, Pernambuco, SE of Recife, R.V. “Calypso” station 25, 08º22’S 34º44’W, depth 38–52 m, sand and mud, 21.XI.1961 [MZUSP 4552].

Description. See Ríos & Duffy (2007) for detailed description and illustrations; see also Almeida et al. (2012) for illustrations of the material from Bahia and Anker et al. (2012) for additional colour photographs.

Distribution. Western Atlantic: Caribbean Sea: Belize, Panama, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, St. Martin; Brazil: Pernambuco, Alagoas, Bahia (Ríos & Duffy 2007; Macdonald et al. 2009; Hultgren et al. 2010; Almeida et al. 2012; Anker et al. 2012; present study).

Ecology. Synalpheus ul is an obligate sponge symbiont (see Anker et al. 2012 for all sponge records); the “Calypso” material was dredged from 38–52 m, without notes on association with sponges.

Remarks. The present specimens from Pernambuco, collected by the French research vessel “Calypso” in 1961, were misidentified as Synalpheus longicarpus (Herrick, 1891) and included by Christoffersen (1979) as part of his extensive material of S. longicarpus . It is also likely that several other records of S. longicarpus in Christoffersen (1979) and perhaps in other studies are based on misidentified material. Therefore, the entire Brazilian material of S. longicarpus, including all the remaining material in Christoffersen (1979), must be reexamined. Synalpheus ul was previously reported from Brazil, from Camamu Bay, Bahia (Almeida et al. 2007, 2012) and Maceió, Alagoas (Anker et al. 2012); this is the first record of this species from Pernambuco.