Alvinocaris, WILLIAMS & CHACE, 1982

Martin, Joel W. & Haney, Todd A., 2005, Decapod crustaceans from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps: a review through 2005, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 145 (4), pp. 445-522 : 458-459

GENUS ALVINOCARIS WILLIAMS & CHACE, 1982

Remarks: Alvinocaris is the most widespread of the vent- and seep-associated shrimp genera and is the only genus known from both hot vents and cold seeps. Kikuchi & Ohta (1995) presented the most recent diagnosis of the genus. However, a complete review of the genus has just been completed (T. Komai & M. Segonzac, pers. comm.; Komai & Segonzac, 2005a). Several studies report only the presence of, or photographs of, Alvinocaris sp. without naming the species (which in some cases was undescribed at the time of publication). Examples of such works include an apparently new species shown in photographs from the Blake Ridge Diapir (methane seeps off South Carolina) by Van Dover et al. (2003), Kim & Ohta (1991, figs 7, 9), Ohta (1990a, fig. 6, described later as A. longirostris by Kikuchi & Ohta 1995), an undescribed species of Alvinocaris from newly discovered vents at seamounts off New Zealand ( Webber & Bruce, 2002, on the NIWA website at http://www.niwa.co.nz/pubs/bu/05/blind), and other reports (see Table 1). The genus occurs in relatively shallow water (200 m) in the Gulf of Mexico ( Escobar-Briones & Villalobos-Hiriart, 2003, and unpublished video sequences of what is probably A. muricola ; M. Segonzac, pers. comm.). Shrimp probably belonging to this genus were also reported recently from a region of asphalt volcanism in the Campeche Knolls, Gulf of Mexico ( MacDonald et al., 2004). Specimens of the genus (identified only as Alvinocaris sp. ) have also been collected from Alvin dive 3936 at an area of new lava flow in the East Pacific Rise (EPR); these are housed at the Field Museum as FMNH 11401 (J. Voight, pers. comm.). Because there is only one species of Alvinocaris known from the EPR ( Alvinocaris lusca ; see Table 1), it is likely that this specimen belongs to that species.

In addition to the nine named species listed below and in Table 1, the ubiquity of this genus at vents and seeps has resulted in numerous recent discoveries, and we are aware of several undescribed species that have been reported or are currently being described. These are listed in Table 1 as Alvinocaris sp. A –G, the details of which are as below.

Alvinocaris sp. A : According to T. Wolff (pers. comm.), R. Webber has reported ‘four small specimens representing a further one or two species’ of Alvinocaris (in addition to Webber’s recently described species, A. niwa ) collected from the Kermadec Ridge.

Alvinocaris sp. B : T. Wolff (pers. comm.) informs us that yet another undescribed species of Alvinocaris is known from the Logatchev site, MAR.

Alvinocaris sp. C : Shrimp that apparently belong to Alvinocaris also have been reported from the Edison Seamount of the Bismark Archipelago north of Papua New Guinea ( Shank et al., 1999; Shank & Martin, 2003). According to T. Komai (pers. comm.), Drs K. Baba and M. Türkay are currently studying specimens.

Alvinocaris sp. D : Desbruyères et al. (1994) reported a species of Alvinocaris from the North Fiji and Lau Basins.

Alvinocaris sp. E : The paratypes of A. brevitelsonis are considered to represent a different, undescribed species of Alvinocaris (T. Komai, pers. comm.) that has just been described as A. dissimilis ( Komai & Segonzac, 2005a) (see below).

Alvinocaris sp. F : T. Wolff (pers. comm.) informs us that there is another undescribed species of Alvinocaris at the Menez Gwen site of the MAR.

Alvinocaris sp. G : Hashimoto & Ohta (1999) reported an undescribed species of Alvinocaris has been reported from the DESMOS site of the Manus Back- Arc Basin.