Alpheus lobidens, De Haan, 1849

Yasser, A. Gh. & Naser, M. D., 2023, A New Record Of The Snapping Shrimp, Alpheus Lobidens, From The Iraqi Coast (Malacostraca, Decapoda, Alpheidae), Zoodiversity 57 (5), pp. 461-464 : 463

Description of some morphological characteristics of Alpheus lobidens .

Rostrum triangular, extending nearly to the end of the first antennular article. A large chela is 2.4 times as long as it is wide. Sharp distomesial tooth on the meri of the major and minor cheliped situated slightly below the distomesial angle. The male minor cheliped has noticeably slenderer merus. The color of the body is greenish-brown, with faint pale longitudinal stripes on the abdomen, brownish chela, and orange apically violet fingers on the larger chela ( fig. 2 ).

Habitat. Muddy intertidal, estuaries, mangroves, rocky/cobble intertidal, typically under rocks and big pieces of coral rubble. Usually, this species can be found in the shallow subtidal, between 0 and 4 meters deep.

D i s t r i b u t i o n. Distribution. Indo-West Pacific: from Japan, Australia, and Hawaii to South Africa to Persian-Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ( Banner & Banner, 1981, Naderloo et al., 2015), and also occurs in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean ( Cunha et al., 2020).

Remarks. Alpheus lobidens has a variety of color patterns and is currently a mysterious species. A detailed analysis of the morphology and observable differences in color pattern in this species is required. At least two species may now be distinguished from one another based on whether or not they have prominent black spots on the abdomen and major merus with a spine on it ( Anker & De Grave, 2016, Anker et al., 2020). According to Al-Maliky et al. (2017), Alpheus edwardsii (Audouin, 1826) was recorded in the Basrah region of Iraq, however, by checking the specimens photographed by them with low resolution ( Al-Maliky et al., 2017: figs 2 ; 3, A), the dorsal shoulder of the major chela does not overflow the nearby transverse groove, and the main cheliped’s merus appears to be equipped with a sharp distomesial tooth ( Al-Maliky et al., 2017: fig. 3, B, D). So, Al-Maliky et al. (2017), mistakenly described A. lobidens as A. edwardsii from Shatt-Al-Basrah and Faw in Iraq, the Iraqi material can therefore be tentatively referred to as A. cf. lobidens .

Figures

Fig.2.Alpheus cf.lobidens De Haan, 1849: A — male from Iraqi coast, (MSC.233) lateral view; B — major chela of male, C — major chela of male, fingers opened to show the plunger. Photographs by M. D. Naser.