Sphaeroma walkeri Stebbing, 1905

Cházaro-Olvera, Sergio, Winfield, Ignacio, Ortiz, Manuel & Álvarez, Fernando, 2002, Peracarid crustaceans from three inlets in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico: new records and range extensions, Zootaxa 123, pp. 1-16 : 10-11

Sphaeroma walkeri Stebbing, 1905

Material Examined: CNCR­20403; number of specimens: 2; SM station; collection date: 16/10/98.

Type locality: Sri Lanka

Distribution: This species occurs on eastern Florida ( Camp et al., 1977; Nelson & Demetriades, 1992); the Gulf of Mexico ( Kensley & Schotte, 1989; Nelson & Demetriades, 1992); Puerto Rico, Brazil ( Nelson & Demetriades, 1992); the California coast ( Carlton & Iverson, 1981), Hawaii ( Nelson & Demetriades, 1992); Hong Kong ( Mak et al. 1985); Australia, India, Sri Lanka, the Red Sea and Africa ( Nelson & Demetriades, 1992; Kensley & Schotte, 2000).

Range extension: In the Gulf of Mexico, Sphaeroma walkeri has been recorded from the western Florida and Texas coasts ( Kensley & Schotte, 1989; Nelson & Demetriades, 1992). The presence of S. walkeri at SM inlet, extends its geographic distribution to Tamaulipas State, Mexico.

Remarks: This species has mangrove roots and dead trees as preferred habitats ( Kensley et al. 1995), but may also be associated with colonies of sabellariid worms ( Nelson & Demetriades, 1992). It occurs in marine, shallow, intertidal warm waters and probably it is limited to a pantropical distribution ( Kensley & Schotte, 1989, 2000).

The salinity and temperature ranges measured at site were 24 to 26 %o and 27 to 28 °C, respectively.