Synalpheus androsi Coutière, 1909

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 : 5

Synalpheus androsi Coutière, 1909

Material examined. Barbados: 8 non-ovigerous individuals, 5 ovigerous females ( VIMS 08BR6706–7, 08BR6802–3, 08BR7101–2), Cement Factory, from Hyattella intestinalis . 1 non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 08BR8002), Cluff Reef, from H. intestinalis . 12 non-ovigerous individuals, 5 ovigerous females ( VIMS 08BR 1402–3 08 BR 1405–11), Spawnee Reef, from H. intestinalis . Largest ovigerous female, CL 4.08 mm, largest non-ovigerous individual, CL 3.78 mm.

Color. Transparent, slightly opaque whitish, with olive-colored embryos (see Ríos and Duffy 2007, Plate 1).

Hosts and ecology. As in Belize and Jamaica (Macdonald et al., 2006; Ríos and Duffy, 2007; Macdonald et al., 2009), in Barbados S. androsi lives only within the sponge Hyattella intestinalis , apparently in heterosexual pairs; we found up to five pairs of adults within a single sponge.

Distribution. Bahamas ( Coutière 1909); Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos & Duffy 2007); Jamaica ( Macdonald et al. 2009); Barbados (this study).

Remarks. Synalpheus androsi can be easily distinguished from other species of Synalpheus living in H. intestinalis by the thin lateral flanges on flexor margins of the merus and carpus of the third and fourth pereopods.