This study reports on the life history of a rare alpheid shrimp,Salmoneus carvachoi, in the tropical western Atlantic. At an intertidal flat in Pontal Bay, Ilhéus, Bahia, north-eastern Brazil,S. carvachoiwas collected from within burrows of the axianassid mud shrimpAxianassa australisand the caridean snapping shrimpsAlpheus estuariensisandAlpheus chacei. These and earlier studies that reportedS. carvachoiin dwellings constructed by other larger burrowing crustaceans suggest thatS. carvachoiis a generalist species that establishes facultative symbiotic partnerships with larger burrowing decapods. We collected a total of 52 individuals during the sampling period (1 year); 19 (36.5%) of these shrimps carried embryos underneath the abdomen. The mean ± SD carapace length was 4.7 ± 0.7 and 5.5 ± 0.3 mm in non-brooding and brooding shrimps, respectively. All collected specimens, whether or not brooding embryos, bear appendices masculinae on the endopods of the second pleopods. Burrows harboured only one or two shrimps and never three or more shrimps. Pairs of shrimp that inhabited burrows consisted of two brooding shrimps (N = 3 pairs), two non-brooding shrimps (N = 3), or one brooding and one non-brooding shrimp (N = 1). The presence of appendices masculinae in all collected shrimps, whether or not brooding embryos, and the pairing of brooding shrimp within host burrows suggest thatS. carvachoiis a simultaneously hermaphroditic species.
We provide an updated list of the 22 species of caridean shrimps occurring in estuaries at Ilhéus, state of Bahia, Brazil, in the following families: Palaemonidae (4 species), Alpheidae (15 species), Hippolytidae (2 species) and Ogyrididae (1 species). The alpheid Automate cf. dolichognatha De Man, 1888 and the ogyridid Ogyrides alphaerostris (Kingsley, 1880) are reported from Bahia for the first time. The alpheids Alpheus brasileiro Anker, 2012, A. buckupi Almeida, Terossi, Araújo- Silva and Mantelatto, 2013, A. chacei Carvacho, 1979, A. nuttingi (Schmitt, 1924), Leptalpheus axianassae Dworschak and Coelho, 1999 and Salmoneus carvachoi Anker, 2007 are recorded from Ilhéus for the first time. Alpheus angulosus McClure, 2002 and A. carlae Anker, 2012 were previously reported from Ilhéus as A. armillatus (H. Milne Edwards, 1837). A key for identification of the carideans from estuaries of Ilhéus is provided.
Studies on fecundity and embryo size have been frequently used to infer about the reproductive potential, embryogenesis, and the energy investment in embryo production in crustaceans. These parameters are relevant to the knowledge of life-history and diversity of reproductive strategies developed by this group. This study addressed the embryo production by the estuarine shrimp Salmoneus carvachoi Anker, 2007, a poorly known caridean shrimp. We investigated whether there was (1) a correlation between fecundity and carapace length, (2) an increase in embryo volume along the embryonic development, and (3) loss of embryos along development. In addition, we investigated whether the esternite length and height and width of the pleura of the second abdominal somite were good predictors of fecundity. A total of 53 embryo-carrying individuals were collected in December 2016 and February 2017 in a tidal mudflat from the estuary of the Paripe River, Ilha de Itamaracá, Pernambuco, Brazil. The carapace length ranged from 3.23 to 4.64 mm (3.78 ± 0.26 mm). Among those, 25 individuals had embryos in initial stage, 5 in intermediate stage and 15 in final stage. Fecundity ranged from 14 to 67 (33.65 ± 12.51 embryos) and was weakly correlated with carapace length. However, fecundity was strongly correlated with the width of the second sternite and width of the pleura of the second abdominal somite. Embryo volume increased markedly (93%) from the initial to the final stage of development. This increase might be due to water uptake to facilitate the membrane rupture at the onset of larvae hatching. There was significant loss of embryos only between the initial and intermediate stage. Future studies on the embryo production by other species of Salmoneus Holthuis, 1955 are necessary to understand and compare these aspects of reproductive biology.
We report the occurrence of the sponge-dwelling snapping shrimpSynalpheus dardeaui(Decapoda: Alpheidae) for the first time from Porto Seguro (Bahia, Brazil) and record an additional sponge host for the species,Irciniacf.strobilina. Synalpheus dardeauiwas previously known from Florida and some localities in the Caribbean Sea. Therefore, the present finding represents the first record of the species in the south-western Atlantic, extending its southern distribution limit by a latitude of 28° from Curaçao (12°N) to Porto Seguro (16°S). Variations between the Brazilian and Florida–Caribbean materials are discussed and illustrated.
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