Morphology and molecular evidence reveal hidden diversity among snapping shrimp of the Alpheus obesomanus group (Decapoda: Alpheidae) with the description of a new species from Brazil

Author(s)

Santos, Patricia S. ; Terossi, Mariana ; Mantelatto, Fernando L. ; Torres, Rodrigo A. ; Almeida, Alexandre O.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Zootaxa; v. 5474, n. 3, p. 18-pg., 2024-06-27.

Abstract

The snapping shrimp family Alpheidae Rafinesque, 1815 includes numerous species, most of which present controversial geographical distributions. The disjunct distribution of Alpheus simus Gu & eacute;rin-M & eacute;neville, 1856 in the western Atlantic, from Florida to the south of the Caribbean Sea and then from Rio Grande do Norte to Bahia in Brazil, suggests that Brazilian material may belong to an undescribed species. The examination of specimens previously identified as A. simus revealed the distinct morphology of material from Brazil, resulting in the description of a new species based on morphological and molecular evidence. The specimens were collected from fragments of fire coral at the Parque Municipal Marinho do Recife de Fora, Porto Seguro, Bahia, Brazil. Alpheus coralvivo sp. nov. belongs to the A. obesomanus group and is morphologically similar to A. simus (northwestern Atlantic) and A. saxidomus Holthuis, 1980 (eastern Pacific), differing mainly in the stylocerite and scaphocerite lengths and in the large gap between the cephalothorax and pleuron of the first pleonal segment. Molecular analysis using the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene support the existence of the new species. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/54931-0 - Improvement and management of biological specimen collections at the Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Garofalo
• Support Opportunities: Research Infrastructure Program - Biological specimen collections
• FAPESP's process: 10/50188-8 - Decapod crustaceans: multi-disciplinary characterization of the sea biodiversity of the State of São Paulo (taxonomy, spermiotaxonomy, molecular biology and population dynamics)
• Grantee: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/13685-5 - Integrative analysis of the Brazilian fauna of decapod crustaceans: taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, spermiotaxonomy, morphology of post-embryonic development, ecology and conservation
• Grantee: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants