Synalpheus cf. brevicarpus ( Herrick, 1891 )

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 : 15

Synalpheus cf. brevicarpus ( Herrick, 1891)

Material examined: Pernambuco — Continental Shelf off Recife : 1 M, 27.ii.2018, 8°13′52.1′′S 34°37′39.1′′W, 50.8 m depth, in sponge, MOUFPE 21537 ; 1 M, same data as MOUFPE 21537, MOUFPE 21555 ; Sergipe —3 M, Plataforma Pdo 2 Face Externa Pé: Terra Fundo , 30.x.2000, MOUFPE 15787 .

Description: Herrick (1891), as Alpheus saulcyi f. brevicarpus Herrick, 1891 , and Coutière (1909).

Distribution: Bermuda, USA (Florida), Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, West Indies, Panama, Venezuela, and Brazil (from Ceará to Rio Grande do Sul) ( Christoffersen 1979, 1998; Bezerra & Coelho 2006; Cházaro-Olvera & Vázquez-López 2014; Velásquez et al. 2017; as references as S. brevicarpus ).

Ecology: Muddy and sandy bottoms, coral rubble, and under rocks; in association with sponges (e.g., Ircinia sp. , Haliclona sp. , Spongia sp. , and Zygomycale sp. ), ascidians, and in reefs of Phragmatopoma sp. ; intertidal to 51 m ( Christoffersen 1979; Velásquez et al. 2017).

Remarks: Synalpheus brevicarpus belongs to the S. brevicarpus complex, which includes the eastern Pacific S. digueti Coutière, 1909 and S. pinkfloydi Anker, Hultgren & De Grave, 2017 , and the western Atlantic S. antillensis , S. minus , and S. ubatuba ( Anker et al. 2017; Mantelatto et al. 2023). Santos et al. (2012), when analyzing material identified as S. cf. brevicarpus , found two distinct color patterns, suggesting the presence of at least two species in southern Bahia. However, part of their material (e.g., the specimen with the pinkish color pattern on the major chela, Fig. 4D ) was mistakenly attributed to S. antillensis (see Soledade et al. 2015). Almeida et al. (2018b) also reported two color patterns in specimens of S. brevicarpus from São Paulo: one with the distal portion of the palm and fingers of the major chela exhibiting a pink/orange coloration ( S. cf. brevicarpus - pink/orange chela) and another with a green/blue coloration ( S. cf. brevicarpus - green/blue chela). Mantelatto et al. (2023) subsequently described the S. cf. brevicarpus (green/blue chela) material from São Paulo as a new species, S. ubatuba . Based on color pattern, part of the material from Bahia initially referred to as S. cf. brevicarpus by Almeida et al. (2012) and Santos et al. (2012) was also reassigned to S. ubatuba . Additionally, Mantelatto et al. (2023) identified the S. cf. brevicarpus (pink/orange chela) material analyzed by Almeida et al. (2018b) as corresponding to S. minus . Mantelatto et al. (2023) highlighted some morphological differences between S. ubatuba and S. brevicarpus , such as the morphology of the basicerite, which in the former is armed with a long, strong distoventral tooth (vs. dorsal margin with a short, subacute point in S. brevicarpus ), and the distolateral tooth of the scaphocerite, which is as long as the antennular peduncle in S. ubatuba (vs. not reaching the end of the antennular peduncle in S. brevicarpus ). These same morphological differences were observed in the material examined in this study. Additionally, the coloration of the major chelae could not be assessed due to pigment dilution caused by ethanol preservation, nor could molecular analyses be conducted. Given the uncertainty surrounding the identity of the material, S. brevicarpus was not excluded from the checklist.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Synalpheus androsi Coutière, 1909: female from the continental shelf off Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil [DZ/UFRGS 7050]. A, frontal region, dorsal view; B, third pereiopod, left side, lateroventral view; C, major chela, right side, mesial view; D, same, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.