Leptalpheus cf. mexicanus Rios and Carvacho, 1983

Salgado-Barragan, Jose, Ayon-Parente, Manuel & Zamora-Tavares, Pilar, 2017, New records and description of two new species of carideans shrimps from Bahia Santa Maria-La Reforma lagoon, Gulf of California, Mexico (Crustacea, Caridea, Alpheidae and Processidae), ZooKeys 671, pp. 131-153 : 135

Leptalpheus cf. mexicanus Rios and Carvacho, 1983

Material examined.

Two males (CL 3.4 and 3.7 mm) and 4 ovigerous females (CL 2.9-3.6 mm), SE Talchichilte Island, Bahía Santa María-La Reforma, Sinaloa, Mexico, 24°50'5.71"N, 108°03'4.23"W, muddy sand, 0.2 m at low tide, October 5, 2014, (EMU-10584).

Habitat.

Previous work and this study agree that this species appears to be associated with mangrove forest ( Ríos and Carvacho 1983; Salgado-Barragán et al. 2014). In Santa María-La Reforma, the species was collected in muddy sand, associated with burrows of N. tabogensis , near mangrove forest

Distribution.

Estero Mulegé, Baja California Sur (type locality), Bahía Santa María-La Reforma and Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico, to Bahía Málaga, Colombia ( Salgado-Barragán et al. 2014; present study).

Remarks.

We could only observe very small crests on carapace of the two males, which were absent in all females. In our opinion, the presence of these structures could be related to the size of the specimens. Specimens of L. cf. mexicanus and L. melendezensis sp. n. were collected in N. tabogensis burrows, but L. cf. mexicanus was found in muddy sand substrata, whereas the new species was found in a beach of fine sand.