Northern range extensions and biological notes for three decapods in the eastern North Pacific

Abstract

Examination of invertebrate vouchers collected during bottom trawl surveys conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Eisheries Service revealed northern range extensions of three decapod species. Two of these species are caridean shrimps (Lebbeus washingtonianus (M. J. Rathbun, 1902) (Hippolytidae) and Systellaspis braueri paucispinosa Crosnier, 1987 (Oplophoridae)) and represent the first records in Alaska. The hthodid crab Neolithodes diomedeae (J. E. Benedict, 1895) was found off California, the first record in U.S. waters, extending its known range by some 2000 km. Biological notes for these three species are provided and morphometric measurements are hsted for Neolithodes diomedeae. RÉSUMÉ L'examen d'échantillons d'Invertébrés collectés au cours de relevés au chalut de fond réal-isés par le Service national de la Pêche maritime de l'Administration Nationale des Affaires Océanographiques et Atmosphériques (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Eisheries Service) ont révélé des extensions d'aires vers le nord de trois espèces de Décapodes. Deux de ces espèces sont des crevettes Caddea (Lebbeus washingtonianus (M. J. Rathbun, 1902) (Hippolytidae) et Systellaspis braueri paucispinosa Crosnier, 1987 (Oplophoridae)) dont c'est la première mention en Alaska. Le crabe Lithodidae Neolithodes diomedeae (J. E. Benedict, 1895) a été trouvé au large de la Californie, ce qui constitue un premier signalement dans les eaux U.S. et étend son aire de répartition de quelque 2000 km. Des notes relatives à la biologie de ces trois espèces sont fournies et des mesures morphométriques sont données pour Neolithodes diomedeae. )

Symbiosis between the holothurian Scotoplanes sp. A and the lithodid crab Neolithodes diomedeae on a featureless bathyal sediment plain

“…Lithodid crabs have rarely been observed over featureless bathyal sediment habitats on the continental slope near Monterey Bay (Jacobsen Stout et al., ; Taylor et al., ). Neolithodes diomedeae is known to occur in the Pacific Ocean from Central California to as far south as Chile, and South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic (Drumm et al., ). In the Monterey region, individuals have been observed from ~1225–1575 m depth (Jacobsen Stout et al., ).…”

New record of the blunt bladed shrimp Spirontocaris truncata (Caridea: Thoridae) from the Gulf of Alaska

“…The NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) conducts surveys on the continental shelf and upper slope to a bottom depth of 1000 m in the Gulf of Alaska (von Szalay et al, 2010). Recent efforts by NMFS to document the diversity of Alaska's marine invertebrate fauna (Drumm et al, 2013;Drumm et al, in press) have revealed new records for species in the area. A standard practice for AFSC surveys is the collection and identification of fish stomach contents to understand the food habits of commercial fishes.…”