Synalpheus bousfieldi Chace, 1972

Hultgren, Kristin M., Macdonald Iii, Kenneth S. & Duffy, J. Emmett, 2010, Sponge-dwelling snapping shrimps of Curaçao, with descriptions of three new species *, Zootaxa 2372 (1), pp. 221-262 : 228

Synalpheus bousfieldi Chace, 1972

(Pls. 2C–F, 3A–B)

Material examined. Curaçao: 9 ov. females, 15 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU4107–11, 4115–6, 10102, 10402, 11903), Caracas Baai, from the canals of Hyattella intestinalis . 1 individual ( VIMS 08CU12302), Eastpunt, from the canals of Agelas cf. clathrodes . 4 ov. females, 5 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU12201– 2), Eastpunt, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 2 ov. females, 2 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU701–2, 1901), Piscadera Baai, from the canals of A. cf. clathrodes . 1 ov. female, 1 non-ov. individual ( VIMS 08CU402–3), Piscadera Baai, from the canals of an unidentified crumbly white sponge. 8 ov. females, 8 nonov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU301–2, 501–3, 601–2, 801–2, 1301–2, 1801–3), Piscadera Baai, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 3 individuals ( VIMS 08CU1103, 1201), Piscadera Baai, no host found (in coral rubble with sponges). 17 ov. females, 11 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU103–4, 111–132), Piscadera Baai, from the canals of Aiolochroia crassa . 1 individual ( VIMS 08CU8704), Piscadera Baai east, from the canals of A. cf. clathrodes . 23 ov. females, 44 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU8901, 9302, 9903), Piscadera Baai east, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 9 ov. females, 13 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU9806–11), Piscadera Baai east, from the canals of A. crassa . 3 ov. females, 2 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU9003, 9101–2, 10005), Piscadera Baai east, from the canals of Xestospongia subtriangularis . 3 ov. females, 4 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU8602), Scary Steps, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 1 ov. female, 1 non-ov. individual ( VIMS 08CU8401–2), Scary Steps, no host recorded (in coral rubble with sponges). 12 ov. females, 15 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU8302–13), Scary Steps, from the canals of Xestospongia proxima . 1 individual ( VIMS 08CU5002), Westpunt, in coral rubble, possibly associated with a webby white and purple sponge. 8 ov. females, 8 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU5605–7, 5611, 5801–2, 5807, 5901–2, 7001), Westpunt, from the canals of H. intestinalis . 1 individual ( VIMS 08CU6802), Westpunt, no host recorded (in coral rubble with sponges). 4 individuals ( VIMS 08CU6503), Westpunt, from the canals of A. crassa . 2 ov. females, 2 non-ov. individuals ( VIMS 08CU4802, 4804, 6701, 6703) and newly released swimming larvae ( VIMS 08CU4803 and 08CU6702, released from 08CU4802 and 08CU6701, respectively), Westpunt, from the canals of X. proxima . 1 individual ( VIMS 08CU6102), Westpunt, no definitive host recorded, possibly associated with a yellow-purplish webby sponge in coral rubble. Largest ov. female, CL 7.3 mm, largest non-ov. individual, CL 4.7 mm.

Color. Synalpheus bousfieldi from different sponges differed in size (see Remarks) and embryo or body color. Ovigerous females from Aiolochroia crassa had embryos varying from a deep dark red to an orange or chestnut-brown, and some individuals had a somber purplish tinge (see plate 2f). Several S. bousfieldi individuals from A. crassa (both ovigerous and non-ovigerous) had distinctive, black-tipped major chelae, specifically a ring of black pigment around the distal dactyl with the very tip of the dactyl lacking pigment ( Plates 2d–e ). Individuals from Agelas cf. clathrodes , Hyattella intestinalis , and Xestospongia proxima were drab with orange-tipped chelae, with embryo and ovary color ranging from brownish-olive, to light chestnut, to orange-red ( Plates 2f , 3a–b ).

Hosts and ecology. In Curaçao, S. bousfieldi was the most commonly encountered Synalpheus species and occurred across a wide range of hosts, primarily Hyattella intestinalis but also Xestospongia proxima , Xestospongia subtriangularis , Agelas cf. clathrodes , and Aiolochroia crassa . In Belize, S. bousfieldi is primarily found in H. intestinalis (Macdonald et al. 2006) .

Distribution. Bahamas ( Dardeau 1984); Cuba ( Martínez Iglesias & García Raso 1999); Gulf of Mexico ( Dardeau 1984); Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico ( Chace 1972); Belize ( Macdonald & Duffy 2006; Rios & Duffy 2007); possibly Brazil ( Christofferson 1979); Curaçao (this study).

Remarks. Despite variation in size, and in some cases color patterns, careful examination of morphological characters and genetic sequencing (KMH unpublished data) support classification of these specimens as Synalpheus bousfieldi . All specimens of S. bousfieldi possessed a combination of characters that clearly distinguish this species from others in the S. brooksi species complex, including an acute major chela projection (directed downwards towards the dactyl) with a small secondary projection, a minor chela with a thick tuft of setae on the moveable finger, scaphocerite and basicerite spines exceeding the second antennal segment, and a stout stylocerite (see Macdonald et al. 2009 for a table summarizing the characters differentiating members of the S. bousfieldi complex). However, specimens of S. bousfieldi from Agelas cf. clathrodes were smaller (mean CL 2.9 mm) than individuals from Hyattella intestinalis and X. proxima (pooled mean CL 4.1 mm), and individuals from Aiolochroia crassa — a sponge with large canals—were the largest (mean CL 4.9 mm). S. bousfieldi can be distinguished most readily from Synalpheus carpenteri cooccurring in A. cf. clathrodes by the length of the basicerite (clearly exceeding the second antennal segment in S. bousfieldi , rarely exceeding the first antennal segment in S. carpenteri ). In the sponge A. crassa , S. bousfieldi can be distinguished from Synalpheus herricki by the stylocerite (long and thin in S. herricki , stout in S. bousfieldi ) and the dactyl of the major chela (strongly hooked in S. herricki ).

Figures

PLATE 2. A, Synalpheus bocas ov. female (VIMS 08CU7501), from Xestospongia sp. “soft”, Scary Steps, Curaçao; B, Synalpheus bocas non-ov. individual (VIMS 08CU7502), from Xestospongia sp. “soft”, Scary Steps, Curaçao; C, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU701), from Agelas cf. clathrodes, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; D, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU127), from Aiolochroia crassa, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; E, Synalpheus bousfieldi non-ov. individual (VIMS 08CU128), from Aiolochroia crassa, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; F, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU1301), from Hyattella intestinalis, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao.

PLATE 3. A, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU5605), from Hyattella intestinalis, Westpunt, Curaçao; B, Synalpheus bousfieldi ov. female (VIMS 08CU8306), from Xestospongia proxima, Scary Steps, Curaçao; C, Synalpheus carpenteri ov. female (VIMS 08CU8209), from Agelas cf. clathrodes, Scary Steps, Curaçao; D, Synalpheus goodei ov. female (VIMS 08CU5101), from Xestospongia proxima, Westpunt, Curaçao; E, Synalpheus herricki ov. female (VIMS 08CU9802), from Aiolochroia crassa, Piscadera Baai, Curaçao; F, Synalpheus herricki ov. female (VIMS 08CU2704), from Aiolochroia crassa, St. Michiel Baai, Curaçao.