Alpheus edamensis De Man, 1888

Al-Kandari, Manal, Anker, Arthur, Hussain, Sumaiah, Al-Yassen, Sharifa, Sattari, Zainab & Grave, Sammy De, 2020, New records of decapod crustaceans from Kuwait (Malacostraca: Decapoda), Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 251-280 : 252-254

Alpheus edamensis De Man, 1888

( Fig. 1 )

Alpheus Hippothoë var. edamensis De Man 1888: 518 . Alpheus edamensis . — De Man, 1911: 437, ( 1915) pl. 23, fig. 107; Banner & Banner 1982: 188, fig. 57; Anker 2001a: (vol. 2) 5,

188; Naderloo & Türkay 2012: 9; Naderloo et al. 2013: 448; Anker & De Grave 2016: 351, fig. 9; Dehghani et al. 2019a:

484, fig. 2E, F. Alpheus acanthomerus Ortmann 1890: 474 , pl. 36, fig. 12.

Material examined. Kuwait: 1 male (minor cheliped regenerating), OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.014, Kubbar Island , 29°04’18.93”N 48°29’18.74”E, depth 2–3 m, sand flat with sparse rubble, under coral rocks, leg. S. De Grave, 26.ix.2019 [fcn KUW-019]; 1 ov. female, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.015, same collection data [fcn KUW-018]; 1 young male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.016, Ras Ajuzah , “Mango Cafe Beach”, 29°23.656’N 47°59.840’E, mixed rocky-muddy intertidal, under rocks, leg. M. Al-Kandari et al., 25.ix.2019 [fcn KUW-025]; 1 male, OUMNH. ZC. 2020.01.017, Qaruh Island , 28°49’00.53’’N 48°46’30.25”E, depth 6–8 m, sand flat with sparse rubble, under Acropora plates, leg. S. De Grave, 29.ix.2019 [fcn KUW-044]; 1 male, 2 ov. females, KISR, Al-Julaia’a, Seashell Hotel , leg. M. Al-Kandari et al., 14.xii.2019 .

General distribution. Widely distributed in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea, East Africa ( Tanzania) and the Arabian Gulf ( Iran, Kuwait, UAE) to southern Japan, Indonesia, Australia and French Polynesia ( Banner & Banner 1981, 1982, 1983; Chace 1988; Naderloo & Türkay 2012; Anker & De Grave 2016; Dehghani et al. 2019a; present study).

Ecology. Intertidal and shallow subtidal (to about 50 m); on both healthy and heavily impacted reefs; typically under large rocks and coral rubble ( Banner & Banner 1982; present study).

Remarks. The present material represents the first record of this fairly common and widely distributed species from Kuwait. Alpheus edamensis was previously known from the Arabian Gulf based on a single published record from Qeshm Island, Iran ( Naderloo & Türkay 2012; Naderloo et al. 2013). In his PhD thesis, however, Anker (2001a) listed specimens of A. edamensis from Abu Dhabi ( UAE) and from an unspecified locality in the Arabian Gulf, deposited in the MNHN and SMF collections, respectively. The general body colour of A. edamensis varies from dark red-brown to pale yellow-brown; however, the marbled-spotted chelae and the blue antennal flagella are very characteristic of the species ( Fig. 1 ; see also Dehghani et al. 2019a: fig. 2E, F).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Alpheus edamensis De Man, 1888: A—male from Qaruh Island, Kuwait (OUMNH.ZC. 2020.01.017), dorsal view; B—ovigerous female from Kubbar Island, Kuwait (OUMNH.ZC. 2020.01.015), dorsal view. Photographs by A. Anker.