Nemaster grandis A.H. Clark, 1909

Vera-Caripe, Jonathan Alejandro, Gómez, Carlos Federico Lira, Tucker, Gabriela Carias & Agudo-Padrón, Aisur Ignacio, 2019, New records of the shrimp Periclimenes crinoidalis Chace, 1969 (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) and its crinoid host Nemaster grandis A. H. Clark, 1909 (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) in the Caribbean Sea, Nauplius (e 2019005) 27, pp. 1-9 : 2-3

Nemaster grandis A.H. Clark, 1909

Nemaster grandis A.H. Clark, 1909: 504 .— Meyer et al., 1978: 414.— Benavides-Serrato et al., 2011: 58, fig. 2 A.

Diagnosis. Organisms robust; cirrus XXV–XXX, 30–35, approximately 40 mm long, big and strong; 24–31 arms, about 200 mm long; color: translucent purple or black with white spinules, no black line in the middle of the dorsal surface of the arms. Without dark spot in the middle of each segment of the pinnules, the pinnules single-colored or with white tips (A.H. Clark, 1931; Meyer and Macurda, 1976; Benavides-Serrato et al., 2011).

Type locality. Albatross station 2146, off Colon, Canal Zone, Panama.

Geographical distribution. Jamaica; Dominican Republic; Caribbean coast of Central and South America from Honduras to Los Roques Archipelago ( Venezuela), including Panama, Colombia, Curaçao and Bonaire ( Meyer et al., 1978).

Records for Venezuela. Off Venezuela ( Tommasi, 1971), Los Roques ( Meyer et al., 1978) and Chichiriviche de la Costa, Vargas State (present study).

Habitat. The organisms were observed in coral reefs with sandy bottoms, between 5–18 m deep.

Remarks: Some specimens of the Nemaster grandis ( Figs. 2 , 4 ) presented orange, black and white colours, instead of the typical coloration combining dark purple, black and white previously described for the species ( Clark, 1931; Meyer and Macurda, 1976; Benavides-Serrato et al., 2011). For that reason, we chose the denomination Nemaster cf. grandis for the observed coloration; further studies need to be conducted to confirm the specific identity and check whether this is a just another variation never described to date.

Figures

Figure 2. Mimicryof the shrimp Periclimenes crinoidalis associated with the crinoid Nemaster cf.grandis, in Chichiriviche de la Costa, Vargas State, Venezuela.

Figure 4. Male of Periclimenes crinoidalis (CL 1.58 mm), associated with the crinoid Nemaster cf. grandis, in Chichiriviche de la Costa, Vargas State, Venezuela.