Synalpheus goodei Coutière, 1909

Hultgren, Kristin M., Macdonald Iii, Kenneth S. & Duffy, J. Emmett, 2010, Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps of Curaçao, with descriptions of three new species *, Zootaxa 2372 (1), pp. 221-262 : 230

Synalpheus goodei Coutière, 1909

(Pl. 3D)

Material examined. Curaçao: 1 ov. female ( VIMS 08 CU5101), Westpunt, from the canals of Xestospongia proxima, CL 4.3 mm . Panama: 1 ov. female ( VIMS08 CU9201–2) , Isla San Cristobal (09° 18’ 02.04” N, 82° 16’ 28.74” W), from the canals of Calyx podatypa de Laubenfels .

Color. Body drab and colorless, with pinkish-brown embryos.

Hosts and ecology. The single individual of Synalpheus goodei collected in Curaçao was found in the sponge Xestospongia proxima . S. goodei occurs in the related sponges Xestospongia wiedenmayeri and Calyx podatypa in Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Rios & Duffy 2007) and Panama (this study).

Distribution. Florida ( Coutière 1909); Gulf of Mexico ( Coutière 1909; Dardeau 1984); Cuba ( Martínez Iglesias & García Raso 1999); Dominica, Tobago ( Chace 1972); Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Rios & Duffy 2007), Curaçao (this study; Westinga & Hoetjes, 1981), Caribbean Panama (this study).

Remarks. The specimen found here was similar in morphology to described species of S. goodei elsewhere, but was exceedingly rare despite frequent sampling of the host sponge it was found in ( Xestospongia proxima , 15 individual sponges from four different locations). Westinga and Hoetjes (1981) recorded S. goodei from the canals of Spheciospongia vesparium (which was never collected in our study, despite intensive searching), suggesting that this species may have been more common in Curaçao in the recent past.