Synalpheus cf. africanus Crosnier & Forest, 1965

Paixão, Pedro Henrique, Terossi, Mariana, Pasinatto, Karmine, Bochini, Gabriel Lucas & Almeida, Alexandre Oliveira, 2025, Shrimps of the genus Synalpheus Spence Bate, 1888 (Decapoda: Alpheidae) from Northeast Brazil region, Zootaxa 5666 (1), pp. 1-52 : 7

Synalpheus cf. africanus Crosnier & Forest, 1965

Material examined: None.

Description: Anker et al. (2012).

Distribution: Eastern Atlantic: São Tomé and Príncipe. Western Atlantic: Panama (Bocas del Toro), Dominican Republic (Bayahibe), Aruba and Brazil (Rocas Atoll) ( Anker et al. 2012).

Ecology: In cavities of dead eroded corals and in coralline algae; in heterosexual pairs; up to 2 m ( Anker et al. 2012).

Remarks: The amphi-Atlantic S. africanus is morphologically very similar to S. tenuispina ( Coutière, 1909) (see Anker et al. 2012). However, Anker et al. (2012) reported genetic differences between specimens from São Tomé and Príncipe (a male and an ovigerous female) and a typical S. africanus specimen from the eastern Atlantic. Additionally, the authors noted that materials from Rocas Atoll, Aruba, and Panama exhibit characteristics more consistent with S. africanus than S. tenuispina , particularly regarding the length of the scaphocerite and the shape of the rostrum ( Anker et al. 2012). Specimens from these regions were also found to be significantly smaller than the type material of S. tenuispina . According to Anker et al. (2012), a more comprehensive study, encompassing both morphological and genetic analysis, must be conducted to address the taxonomic issues associated with these taxa.