Synalpheus apioceros Coutière, 1909

Anker, Arthur, Pachelle, Paulo P. G., Grave, Sammy De & Hultgren, Kristin M., 2012, 3598, Zootaxa 3598 (1), pp. 1-96 : 20-23

Synalpheus apioceros Coutière, 1909

( Figs 11–13 )

Synalpheus apioceros Coutière 1909: 27 , fig. 9; Schmitt 1935: 147; Schmitt 1936: 369; Holthuis, 1959: 103; Rouse 1970: 138; Chace 1972: 86; Coelho & Ramos 1972: 151; Pequegnat & Ray 1974: 248, fig. 53a; Abele 1976: 273; Carvacho 1979: 463; Rodríguez 1980: 155; Felder 1982: 535; Abele & Kim 1986: 203, 226–227, figs i–k; Christoffersen 1998: 362; Almeida et al. 2012: 18 .

Synalpheus apiocerus (lap. cal.)— Lemaitre 1984: 426.

? Synalpheus apioceros mayaguensis Coutière 1909: 30 , fig. 11.

Material examined. Panama: 1 ov. female, MNHN-IU-2010-4109, Bocas del Toro, Crawl Cay (Cayo Coral), coral rocks and sponges, 1–3 m, coll. A. Anker, 30.10.2005 [fcn 05-087B*]; 2 ov. females, RMNH D54889, Bocas del Toro, Isla Colón, Boca del Drago, coral rocks, 0.5–2 m, coll. A. Anker, J.A. Vera Caripe, 11.11.2006 [fcn 06-554*]; 1 ov. female, RMNH D54890, Bocas del Toro, Isla Bastimentos, near Bastimentos village, mangroves, in holes in sunken wood, 0.5 m, coll. A. Anker, J.A. Vera Caripe, J.A. Baeza, 18.11.2006 [fcn 06-608*]; 2 males, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-044, Bocas del Toro, Cayo Solarte, Hospital Point, coral rocks and sponges, coll. A. Anker et al. (shrimp taxonomy class), 04.08.2008 [fcn 08-235A]; 1 ov. female, RMNH D54891 , same collection data [fcn 08-225A]; 2 ov. females, OUMNH. ZC.2005-10-100, Bocas del Toro, San Cristóbal, Boca Torito, Halimeda wash in Thalassia bed next to mangrove, 0.5 m, coll. S. Lecroy, 09.08.2005; 1 male, 1 ov. female, OUMNH. ZC.2005-10- 101, Bocas del Toro, Cayo Solarte, Hospital Point, 09°20.016’ N, 082°13.133’ W, in Mycale laxissima , 15 m, coll. S. De Grave, M. Salazar, 08.08.2005; 3 males, 1 ov. female, OUMNH. ZC.2005-10-103, Bocas del Toro, Hospital Bight, channel between Isla Bastimentos and Cayo Solarte, 09°18.269’ N, 082°10.339’ W, 0.5 m, fouling growth on mangrove roots, coll. S. Lecroy, 07.08.2005; 1 male, 1 ov. female, OUMNH. ZC.2005-10-102, Bocas del Toro, Isla Colón, Big Bight entrance, in “red sponges” on mangrove roots, 0.5 m, coll. S. Lecroy, 06.08.2005. USA: 6 specimens (including males and ov. females), FLMNH UF 14865, 14867, 14870, 14888, 14898, 14899, western Florida, off Cedar Key, Seahorse Key, shallow bay north of University of Florida marine laboratory, dredge at 2–5 m, in unidentified demosponge, coll. A. Bemis, E. Boisson, C. Campbell, S. McPherson, J. Moore, 20.09.2008 [fcn BSHK-130*, 161*, 125*, 126*, 123*, 124*]. Brazil: 1 ov. female, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-107, Ceará, Pacheco, rocky intertidal at low tide, in rock crevices, coll. P. Pachelle, A. Anker, 04.06.2012 [fcn 12-109*]; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-108, same collection data [fcn 12-110*]; 1 female, OUMNH. ZC 2012-07-109, same collection data [fcn 12-111*]; 1 male, 1 female, MZUSP 26393, Ceará, Pecém, among fouling growth, coll. UFC class, 25.05.2012 [fcn 12-046*]; 1 male, MNHN-IU-2010-4110, Ceará, Paracuru, sponge-ascidian growth on jetty, coll. R. Ruy, 20.06.2011 [fcn 11-071]; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-043, Ceará, Fortaleza, in front of Marina Park Hotel, fouling growth on jetties and buoys, 0–1 m, coll. T. Lotufo et al., 09.09.2011 [fcn 11-101]; 1 male, UFC 446, Ceará, Acaraú, Praia da Jijoca, coll. unknown, 12.08.1968; 1 female, OUMNH. ZC.2012-07-042, Rio Grande do Norte, near Areia Branca, Baixa Grande, rocky intertidal at low tide, under rocks, coll. P. Pachelle, 29.09.2011 [fcn 11-150]; 1 ov. female, MNHH-IU-2010-4111, same collection data [fcn 11-151]; 1 male, RMNH D54888 , same collection data [fcn 11-152]; 1 female, RMNH D54887 , same collection data [fcn 11-153].

Description. For description and illustrations see Coutière (1909).

Size range. Caribbean Sea: males, 3.4–4.6 mm cl; females 3.3–4.5 mm; Brazil: male, 4.3 mm cl; females, 3.9–5.7 mm cl.

Colour in life. Usually semitransparent with pale yellow or pale greenish tinge, sometimes darker goldenyellow or pinkish; chelae distally darker, from greenish blue to pale brown or orange; ovaries and freshly laid eggs from dark green to pale pink-orange ( Figs 11–13 ; see discussion below).

Type locality. Marco , Florida .

Distribution. Western Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico; Florida; Bahamas; throughout Caribbean Sea (e.g., Panama, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela etc.); Suriname; Brazil: Amapá to Santa Catarina ( Coutière 1909; Holthuis 1959; Chace 1972; Pequegnat & Ray 1974; Lemaitre 1984; Christoffersen 1998; present study; see map in Fig. 51 ).

Ecology. Shallow hard-bottom habitats: coral reefs, rocky shores with abundance of sponge and ascidians, coral rubble beds; intertidal to 20 m (present material 0.5–3 m); in crevices of coral rocks, among sponge/ascidian/bryozoan growth on jetty piles or mangrove roots, inside sponges (see Table 1), in shipworm-perforated mangrove wood, and similar microhabitats ( Pequegnat & Ray 1974, Rodríguez, 1980; present study); typically in heterosexual pairs.

Remarks. Coutière (1909) established three varieties (subspecies) of S. apioceros in addition to the nominal form, viz. S. apioceros mayaguensis Coutière, 1909 from Puerto Rico; S. apioceros leiopes Coutière, 1909 from Venezuela; and S. apioceros desterroensis Coutière, 1909 from Brazil. These varieties were separated from the typical S. apioceros by subtle differences in the relative lengths of the antennal scaphocerite vs. carpocerite, length of antennular articles, shape of the posterolateral angles of the telson, proportions of the merus of the third pereiopods, relative lengths of the rostrum vs. orbital teeth, shape of the distal tooth on the major chela, and length of the dorsal tooth of the antennal basicerite. The Brazilian S. apioceros desterroensis appears to be morphologically the most distinctive among them, for instance, in the proportionally shorter articles in the antennular peduncles and a straight forward directed, pointed distal tooth of the major chela. According to Chace (1972), S. apioceros desterroensis may be synonymous with the closely related S. townsendi Coutière, 1909 . However, Coutière’s intimate knowledge of the genus Synalpheus makes such an identification error rather unlikely.

The difference between S. apioceros leiopes and the typical S. apioceros lie mainly in the longer scaphocerite, in which the distolateral tooth “always slightly exceeds carpocerite” ( Coutière 1909). However, in one male-female pair from Utila, the female exhibits the characters of S. apioceros leiopes , while the male appears to be a typical S. apioceros . Based on these observations, S. apioceros leiopes indeed appears to be a synonym of S. apioceros .

The differences between S. apioceros mayaguensis and the typical S. apioceros appear to be more pronounced compared to those of S. apioceros leiopes , concerning the relative lengths of the antennal scaphocerite and carpocerite, the development of the dorsal tooth on the antennal basicerite, and the shape of the distal tooth of the major chela. In typical S. apioceros , the distolateral tooth of the scaphocerite almost reaches the distal end of the carpocerite, the dorsal tooth of the basicerite is long and slender and the distal tooth of the major chela is directed slightly dorsally, while its distal point is directed slightly ventrally. In S. apioceros mayaguensis , the distolateral tooth of the scaphocerite falls very short of the distal end of the carpocerite, the dorsal tooth of the basicerite is somewhat shorter and the distal tooth of the major chela is not directed dorsally, its distal point directed forwards, not ventrally. Importantly, some specimens from Panama (Bocas del Toro) correspond more closely to S. apioceros s. str. (OUMNH.ZC.2005-10-102, 2005-10-103), whereas others match S. apioceros mayaguensis more (OUMNH.ZC.2005-10-100, 2005-10-101). In northeastern Brazil (Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte), most specimens match S. apioceros s. str. and not S. apioceros desterroensis , which was described based on material from southern Brazil (Desterro is an older name for Florianópolis, Santa Catarina). Differences were also observed in the general body colour ( Figs 11–13 ), as well as in the colour of fresh eggs in ovigerous females: greenish or pale olive-yellow in some specimens ( Figs 11c, e , 13 ) to pale pinkish orange in others ( Fig. 12a, b ).

The above-reported morphological variation (with many specimens in the present material matching one or other of Coutière’s varieties) combined with colour differences indicate that S. apioceros may be a species complex. Therefore, the taxonomic status of S. apioceros desterroensis and S. apioceros mayaguensis needs a reinvestigation, at least one of them could represent a valid species. A thorough revision of S. apioceros s. lat. will obviously require examination of all Coutière’s type specimens and analysis of molecular data (COI) from fresh material collected throughout this taxon’s range (Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, Brazil).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Synalpheus apioceros Coutière, 1909: a, male from Seahorse Key, Florida, USA (FLMNH UF 14865); b, c, ovigerous female from the same locality (FLMNH UF 14867); d, non-identified demosponge, host of specimens from Seahorse Key; e, ovigerous female from Bocas del Toro, Panama (RMNH D54889); f, g, ovigerous female from the same locality (RMNH D54890), dorsal (f) and lateral (g) views. Photographs by A. Anker.

FIGURE 12. Synalpheus apioceros Coutière, 1909: a, b, ovigerous female from Ceará, Brazil (OUMNH.ZC.2012-07-107) in dorsal (a) and lateral (b) views; c, female from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (OUMNH.ZC.2012-07-042), dorsal view. Photographs by A. Anker.

FIGURE 13. Synalpheus apioceros Coutière, 1909: female from Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil (RMNH D54888), in dorsal view. Photograph by A. Anker.

FIGURE 51. Presently known geographic ranges of Synalpheus africanus Crosnier & Forest, 1965; S. cf. africanus (eastern and western Atlantic); S. agelas Pequegnat & Heard, 1979; S. anasimus Chace, 1972; S. antillensis Coutière, 1909; S. apioceros Coutière, 1909; S. bocas Anker & Tóth, 2008; S. bousfieldi Chace, 1972; S. brooksi Coutière, 1909; S. carpenteri Macdonald & Duffy, 2006; S. chacei Duffy, 1998; S. congoensis Crosnier & Forest, 1965; S. dardeaui (Ríos & Duffy, 2007); S. dominicensis Armstrong, 1949; S. elizabethae (Ríos & Duffy, 2007); S. filidigitus Armstrong, 1949; S. fritzmuelleri Coutière, 1909; S. goodei