Synalpheus thele Macdonald, Hultgren & Duffy 2009

Hultgren, Kristin M., Iii, Kenneth S Macdonald & Duffy, Emmett, 2011, Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps (Alpheidae: Synalpheus) of Barbados, West Indies, with a description of a new eusocial species, Zootaxa 2834, pp. 1-16 : 13

Synalpheus thele Macdonald, Hultgren & Duffy 2009

Material examined. Barbados: 2 non-ovigerous individuals ( VIMS 08BR6709), Cement Factory, from Hyattella intestinalis . 1 ovigerous female ( VIMS 08BR1401), Spawnee Reef, from H. intestinalis . 1 ovigerous female, 1 non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 08BR701), Spawnee Reef, from Hymeniacidon caerulea . 1 ovigerous female ( VIMS 08BR802), Spawnee Reef, no host unknown. 1 ovigerous female ( VIMS 08BR9905), Thunder Bay, from Spirastrella sp. Largest ovigerous female, CL 3.28 mm, largest non-ovigerous individual, CL 3.22 mm.

Color. Ovigerous females had pale grass-green ovaries.

Hosts and ecology. In Barbados, S thele was found primarily in the sponges Hyattella intestinalis and Hymeniacidon caerulea , but not in Agelas clathrodes , which was the only known sponge hosting S. thele in Jamaica ( Macdonald et al. 2009).

Distribution. Discovery Bay, Jamaica ( Macdonald et al. 2009); Barbados (this study).

Remarks. In Barbados, S. thele can be distinguished from other morphologically similar species in the S. brooksi complex by several characters. For instance, the tuft of setae on the minor chela forms two parallel rows in S. thele , but forms a thick brush in other members of the complex. The distodorsal protuberance of the major chela in S. thele is short and distinctly rounded distally, unlike the longer and more acute protuberance of S. idios and S. bousfiel di in Barbados.