First record of Alpheus platycheirus Boone, 1927 (Crustacea, Alpheidae) on the northwest coast of Venezuela

Abstract

Alpheus platycheirus Boone, 1927 (Decapoda, Alpheidae) is a snapping shrimp widely distributed in the western Atlantic, from the Gulf of Mexico to eastern Brazil. This shrimp usually inhabits muddy marine bottoms; however, here we record for the first time A. platycheirus in association with Thalassia testudinum and Halodule wrightii meadows at an unusually shallow depth in northwest Venezuela. This record extends the known habitat and distribution of A. platycheirus in the Caribbean. Moreover, it represents an additional alpheid species for Venezuela, bringing the known total to 34 species.