Synalpheus elizabethae (Ríos and Duffy), Rios and Duffy

Iii, Kenneth S Macdonald, Hultgren, Kristin & Duffy, Emmett, 2009, The sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Crustacea, Decapoda, Alpheidae, Synalpheus) of Discovery Bay, Jamaica, with descriptions of four new species, Zootaxa 2199, pp. 1-57 : 23-24

Synalpheus elizabethae (Ríos and Duffy)

Figure 10

Material examined. Jamaica: 50 non-ovigerous individuals, 1 ovigerous female, ( VIMS 08JAM0201-03), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of Hyattella intestinalis . 50 non-ovigerous individuals, ( VIMS 08JAM0701,02), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of H. intestinalis . 42 non-ovigerous individuals, 1 ovigerous female, ( VIMS 08JAM0801,02), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of H. intestinalis . 51 non-ovigerous individuals, 1 ovigerous female, ( VIMS 08JAM 1601-03), Pear Tree Bottom Reef, from canals of H. intestinalis . 13 non-ovigerous individuals, ( VIMS 08JAM2501,02), Dairy Bull Reef, from canals of H. intestinalis . 53 non-ovigerous individuals, ( VIMS 08JAM5501,02), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of H. intestinalis . 51 non-ovigerous individuals, 1 ovigerous female, ( VIMS 08JAM5701-03), Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, from canals of H. intestinalis . MaxCL ovigerous female: 3.29 mm. MaxCL non-ovigerous individual: 2.92 mm.

Color. Pale orange; distal portion of major chela brighter; embryo and ovaries pale.

Hosts and ecology. In Jamaica, S. elizabethae has only been found in the canals of Hyattella intestinalis at a depth less than 6 m. In both Belize and Panama it was not found in H. intestinalis , and instead was found in members of the genus Lissodendoryx , and rarely Hymeniacidon caerulea . Like other members of the Synalpheus rathbunae group, it is eusocial, with colonies in Jamaica consisting of a single reproductive female and up to 51 non-ovigerous individuals.

Distribution. Caribbean Panama (as S. “ rathbunae A”, Duffy 1996c); Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos and Duffy 2007); Jamaica (this study).

Remarks. Synalpheus elizabethae is one of a complex of morphologically similar, eusocial species that includes S. rathbunae Coutière , S. regalis Duffy , and S. filidigitus Armstrong. The individuals found in Jamaica differ from S. elizabethae found elsewhere in lacking a secondary point emanating from the protuberance on the palm of the major chela ( Fig. 10 ). Additionally, S. elizabethae from Jamaica are pale orange in color, rather than the bright orange characteristic of shrimp from other regions. In addition to the differences in color (less useful in Jamaican species), S. elizabethae can be distinguished from S. regalis by the acute ventral projection of the male abdominal pleura ( Fig. 10 ).

Figures

FIGURE 10. Synalpheus elizabethae. Non-ovigerous individual CL: 2.29 mm (08 JAM 070102) from canals of H. intestinalis, Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, Jamaica: A, ventral region of abdomen, lateral view; B, chela of major first pereopod, anterior region, ventral view. S. regalis. Non-ovigerous individual CL: 2.09 mm (08 JAM 620202) from canals of H. intestinalis, Columbus Park, Discovery Bay, Jamaica: C, ventral region of abdomen, lateral view; D, chela of major first pereopod, anterior region, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.4 mm for A, B; 0.5 mm for C, D.