Synalpheus herricki 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 herricki Coutière, 1909

(Pls. 3E–F, 4A)

Material examined. Curaçao: 32 ov. females, 42 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU3201–6, 4001–3, 10701– 3, 10801–3), Caracas Baai, from the canals of Aiolochroia crassa . 4 ov. females, 5 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU101–2, 105–11), Piscadera Baai, from the canals of A. crassa . 6 ov. females, 5 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU8902–3), from the canals of Hyattella intestinalis, Piscadera Baai east. 7 ov. females, 6 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU9802–5), Piscadera Baai east, from the canals of A. crassa . 2 individuals ( VIMS 08CU8603), Scary Steps, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 31 ov. females, 40 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU2601–10, 2701–9, 2802–7), St Michiel Baai, from the canals of A. crassa . 2 ov. females, 4 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU6501–2), Westpunt, from the canals of A. crassa . Largest ov. female, CL 7.6 mm, largest non-ov. individual, CL 7.0 mm.

Color. Drab non-descript body, developing ovaries grey to olive-green, embryos either 1) olive green to pale grass green, or 2) dark red wine-colored.

Hosts and ecology. S. herricki occurs in approximately equal sex ratios in the common sponges Aiolochroia crassa and less commonly in Hyattella intestinalis . Some individuals had bopyrid parasites in branchial regions ( Plate 4A ).

Distribution. Florida ( Coutière 1909); Gulf of Mexico ( Coutière 1909; Dardeau 1984); Belize ( Rios & Duffy 2007), Curaçao (this study).

Remarks. Female Synalpheus herricki collected in Curaçao occurred in two distinct color morphs: with olive- to grass-green embryos ( Plate 3E ; as described from other localities), or with dark red wine-colored embryos ( Plate 3F ). These two morphs sometimes (but not always) co-occurred in individual sponges, and males in these species were indistinguishable. Careful examination of females with two different colored embryos revealed no distinct morphological differences except that females with wine-colored embryos were slightly larger (mean CL 6.87 mm ± 0.16 SE) than females with green embryos (mean CL 6.03 mm ± 0.34 SE), and had slightly longer stylocerites (75–100% of the length of the first antennal peduncle) than females with green embryos (50–75% of length of peduncle). These data suggest larger, more mature individuals may be more likely to have wine-colored embryos and longer stylocerites.

Figures

PLATE 3. A, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU5605), from Hyattella intestinalis, Westpunt, Curaçao; B, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU8306), from Xestospongia proxima, Scary Steps, Curaçao; C, Synalpheus carpenteri ov. female (VIMS 08CU8209), from Agelas cf. clathrodes, Scary Steps, Curaçao; D, Synalpheus goodei ov. female (VIMS 08CU5101), from Xestospongia proxima, Westpunt, Curaçao; E, Synalpheus herricki ov. female (VIMS 08CU9802), from Aiolochroia crassa, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; F, Synalpheus herricki ov. female (VIMS 08CU2704), from Aiolochroia crassa, St. Michiel Baai, Curaçao.

PLATE 4. A, Synalpheus herricki non-ov. individual (VIMS 08CU2606) with thoracic parasite, from Aiolochroia crassa, St. Michiel Baai, Curaçao; B, Synalpheus hoetjesi ov. female (VIMS 08CU2901) from Xestospongia subtriangularis, Caracas Baai, Curaçao; C, Synalpheus hoetjesi ov. female (VIMS 08CU303) from Hyattella intestinalis, Caracas Baai, Curaçao; D, Synalpheus hoetjesi non-ov. individual (VIMS 08CU10401) from Hyattella intestinalis, Caracas Baai, Curaçao; E, Synalpheus idios ov. female (VIMS 08CU909) from Spongia sp., Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; F, Synalpheus idios non-ov. individual (VIMS 08CU914) from Spongia sp., Piscadera Baai, Curaçao.