Synalpheus agelas Pequegnat & Heard , 1979

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 : 4-5

Synalpheus agelas Pequegnat & Heard, 1979

Material examined. Barbados: 1 non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 08BR5001), Brandon’s Beach, from Agelas clathrodes . 1 non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 08BR8501), Cluff Reef, from A. clathrodes . 20 non-ovigerous individuals, 5 ovigerous females ( VIMS 08BR8202–4, 08BR8302–3, 08BR8401–8404), Cluff Reef, from Agelas dispar . 1 non-ovigerous individual ( VIMS 08BR601), Spawnee Reef, from A. clathrodes . Largest ovigerous female, CL 3.2 mm, largest non-ovigerous individual, CL 4.02 mm.

Color. Ovigerous females had green or orange ovaries and embryos.

Hosts and ecology. As is true elsewhere, S. agelas was found only within sponges of the genus Agelas . At Cluff reef at the northern end of Barbados, S. agelas dominated the fauna of Agelas spp., with up to 11 individuals per sponge. This contrasts with previously sampled sites in other regions, where S. agelas is usually a minor component of the fauna of Agelas , often occurring as one or two heterosexual pairs within a sponge (Macdonald et al. 2006; Macdonald et al. 2009; Hultgren et al. 2010).

Distribution. Florida Keys, USA ( Morrison et al. 2004); Bahamas ( Dardeau 1984); Gulf of Mexico ( Pequegnat & Heard 1979; Dardeau 1984); Puerto Rico ( Dardeau 1984); Cuba ( Martínez Iglesias & García Raso 1999); Belize (Macdonald et al. 2006; Ríos & Duffy 2007); Jamaica ( Macdonald et al. 2009) Curaçao (Hultgren et al. 2010); Barbados (this study); northeastern Brazil (Coelho Filho 2006).

Remarks. Synalpheus agelas can be easily distinguished from other species of Synalpheus occurring in Agelas spp. by the number of segments in the carpus of the second pereopod (4 in S. agelas , 5 in other species living in Agelas spp.).