A new snapping shrimp (Crustacea Decapoda, Alpheidae, Alpheus) from the estuarine mudflats of Kuwait A. Anker & S. De Grave Anker, A. & S. De Grave. A new snapping shrimp (Crustacea Decapoda, Alpheidae, Alpheus) from the estuarine mudflats of Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (25), 29.viii.2009: 811-817, figs 1-18.― ISSN 0024-0672. Arthur Anker, 250A Dickinson Hall, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gaines- ville, FL 32611-7800, USA ([email protected]). Sammy De Grave, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road Oxford OX1 3PW, U.K. ([email protected]). Key words: Caridea; Alpheidae; snapping shrimp; Alpheus; new species; mudflat; Kuwait; Persian Gulf; facultative association; goby. A new snapping shrimp, Alpheus lutosus spec. nov., is described from the intertidal mudflats of Bubiyan Island, northern Kuwait, south of the vast Shatt-Al-Arab delta. The new species appears to be closely related to Alpheus hoplocheles Coutière, 1897 from similar estuarine habitats in China and Japan, differing mainly in the absence of a sharp distolateral tooth on the palm of the major chela, the less marked rostral carina, and the number of spines on the propodus of the third pereiopod. Both A. lutosus spec. nov. and A. hoplocheles are unique within the A. edwardsii species group in having a strong sharp distomesial tooth on the palm of the otherwise typical edwardsii-type major chela. At the type locality, A. lutosus spec. nov. is often associated with the goby Acentrogobius dayi Koumans, 1944. Introduction As with other Caridea, the Alpheidae of the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf in some literature) are still relatively poorly known; a brief historical overview to the known fauna is provided by De Grave (2007). The first alpheid species descriptions and records from the Persian Gulf were made by Nobili (1905, 1906) and Coutière (1908), based on collections made by J. Bonnier and C. Péréz. For most of the 20th century there was little if any prospecting activity for carideans in this area, the next report of Alp- heidae being that of Motoh (1975) who recorded 2 species from Kuwait. Banner & Banner (1981) reported upon a further 15 species based on a collection made by the Danish Persian Gulf Expedition in 1937-1938. Titgen (1982) in an unpublished PhD thesis reported 4 alpheid species from Dubai, and summarised all previous records of caridean shrimps from the Gulf, totaling 25 species in the family Alpheidae. However, Titgen’s summary does not include Alpheus perezi Coutière, 1908 and A. persicus No- bili, 1905 (although the latter species is considered a synonym of A. malleodigitus (Bate, 1888), see Banner & Banner 1966, 1982). Some of these records appear rather dubious, for instance the occurrence of Alpheus dentipes Guérin, 1832, an eastern Atlantic spe- cies, in Saudi Arabia (see Basson et al. 1977), is most likely a misidentification, as is the record of A. distinguendus De Man, 1909 from Kuwait (Motoh, 1975). Most recently, De Grave (2007) recorded Athanas parvus De Man, 1910 from the United Arab Emirates, previously recorded in the unpublished thesis of Titgen (1982) as A. sibogae De Man, 1910. Thus until the present study, the total number of Alpheidae from the Persian Gulf stood at 27 species. ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 811 07 08 2009 09:39 812 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) In 2004, Dr. David T. Jones (University College North Wales, Bangor, UK) collected a series of specimens of Alpheus on the intertidal mudflats of Bubiyan Island, northern Kuwait, tentatively identified as Alpheus euphrosyne euphrosyne De Man, 1897, a species known from the Persian Gulf (Banner & Banner, 1981). However, despite superficial resemblance with A. euphrosyne, these specimens were clearly different from A. euph- rosyne and related forms (cf. Banner & Banner 1982) by the presence of a sharp tooth on the distomesial margin of the palm of the major chela. To our knowledge, the only other species of Alpheus with a similar major chela is A. hoplocheles Coutière, 1897 known only from coastal mudflats of China and Japan. One of us (SDG) examined the lectotype of A. hoplocheles kept in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Lei- den (RMNH). We then compared Alpheus sp. from Kuwait with A. hoplocheles and con- cluded that these two species are sufficiently different to be considered as distinct. Therefore, a new species of Alpheus is described below based on D.T. Jones’ material from Bubiyan Island. Additional, non-type material, from Kuwait Bay collected in 1978 and deposited as “Alpheus sp.” in the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA (FLMNH) also belongs to the new species. All drawings were made under a dissecting microscope equipped with a camera lucida, carapace length (CL, from the tip of the rostrum to the posterior margin of the carapace) is used as the standard measurement. The material is deposited in the collec- tion of the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, the Netherlands (formerly Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (RMNH)); Oxford University Museum of Natu- ral History, Oxford, UK (OUMNH); and the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA (FLMNH). Systematic part Alpheus Fabricius, 1798 Alpheus lutosus spec. nov. (figs 1-18) Material examined.— Holotype, ♂ (RMNH D 53106), Kuwait, Shatt-Al-Arab delta, Bubiyan Island, Ras Al-Barshah and area bordering Khor Al-Subbiya, approx. 29° 36’N 48°188’E, muddy intertidal, in bur- rows with gobies, leg. D. Jones et al., 01.x.2004, CL 8.6 mm. Paratypes: ♀ (RMNH D 53107), CL 8.4 mm; ♂ (CL 6.4 mm), 3 ♀♀ (CL 7.1-8.5 mm) (OUMNH.ZC.2007-17-001); ♂ (OUMNH.ZC.2007-17-002), dis- sected and illustrated, CL 10.0 mm; all same data as holotype. Non-type material examined: 1 ♂ (CL 9.0 mm), 3 ♀♀ (CL 6.0-8.7 mm) (FLMNH UF Arthropoda 3872), Kuwait, Kuwait Bay, Al Jahrah, mudflat, coll. Vaughan, ZZZ-89003, 01.ii.1978. Description.— Medium-sized species of Alpheus edwardsii group. Rostrum conical, acute distally, not flattened dorsally; rostral carina feebly developed, flattening posteri- orly (fig. 2), reaching 0.23-0.38 CL; orbital hoods moderately swollen, rounded, un- armed; adrostral furrows shallow. Antennular peduncle with second segment more than twice as long as wide; stylocerite not reaching distal margin of first segment (fig. 2); mesioventral carina with low, shark fin shaped tooth (fig. 16). Antenna with basicer- ite bearing small, subacute (sometimes blunt) distoventral tooth (fig. 1); scaphocerite relatively long, with slightly concave lateral margin and narrow blade, latter not over- ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 812 07 08 2009 09:39 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) 813 reaching strong distolateral tooth (fig. 2); carpocerite reaching beyond scaphocerite and end of antennular peduncle (fig. 1). Mouthparts typical for Alpheus in external observation. Third maxilliped slender, pediform; antepenultimate segment flattened ventrolaterally; proportions of antepe- nultimate, penultimate and ultimate segments as illustrated (fig. 15); lateral plate on coxa protruding, blunt distally; arthrobranch well developed. Major cheliped similar in both sexes, although larger and with slightly different proportions in males; ischium very short, merus short, stout, blunt distodorsally, with- out distinct distomesial tooth; carpus broadly cup-shaped; chela with palm roughly twice as long as fingers, distodorsal margin with broad notch extending on lateral sur- face as broad, posteriorly extending longitudinal depression (fig. 3), and on mesial sur- face as posteriorly extending longitudinal groove (fig. 4), dorsal shoulder not overhang- ing, rounded, sloping smoothly into notch (fig. 4); ventral margin with deep, broad notch, adjacent areas depressed on both mesial and lateral surface (figs 3-4), ventral shoulder not protruding anteriorly, rounded; distal margin of palm with sharp tooth mesially, without such tooth laterally (figs 3-4); dactylus only slightly overreaching pollex (fig. 3), with well developed plunger, latter furnished with stamen-shaped sensil- lae (fig. 5). Figs 1-5. Alpheus lutosus spec. nov., male paratype (OUMNH.ZC.2007-17-002). 1, frontal region, lateral; 2, same, dorsal; 3, major (right) cheliped, lateral; 4, same, mesial; 5, same, dactylus showing plunger, lateral. ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 813 07 08 2009 09:39 814 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) Figs 6-18. Alpheus lutosus spec. nov., male paratype (OUMNH.ZC.2007-17-002). 6, minor (left) cheliped, lateral; 7, same, chela, mesial; 8, same, ischium to carpus, mesial; 9, same, chela fingers, lateral; 10, right second pereiopod, lateral; 11, right third pereiopod, lateral; 12, same, propodus and dactylus; 13, right fifth pereiopod; 14, right second pleopod, appendix masculina and appendix interna; 15, right third max- illiped, lateral; 16, right antennule, ventromesial carina of first segment, lateral; 17, right uropod, dorsal; 18, telson, dorsal. ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 814 07 08 2009 09:39 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) 815 Male minor cheliped with short ischium, stout merus and cup-shaped carpus, pro- portions as illustrated (figs 6, 8); chela with palm approximately 1.2-1.3 times longer than fingers; distodorsal margin with distinct depression extending on lateral surface as shallow, posteriorly extending longitudinal groove (figs 6, 9), and on mesial surface as short, not posteriorly extending transverse groove (fig. 7); ventral margin with dis- tinct notch visible in both lateral and mesial views (figs 6-7, 9); distal margin of palm with small acute tooth both laterally and mesially (figs 7, 9); dactylus markedly ex- panded, with lateral and mesial ridges furnished with balaeniceps setae (figs 6-7, 9); pollex with row of setae proximally on mesial side, without organised setae laterally (figs 6-7). Female minor cheliped with ischium, merus and carpus similar to those in male; chela with fingers non-balaeniceps, moderately slender, about as long as palm; palm with shallow depression dorsolaterally, ventral margin without sinus. Second pereiopod slender; merus slightly shorter than ischium; carpus five-seg- mented, ratio of segments approximately 4/2.5/1/1/1.5; chela as long as second carpal segment (fig. 10). Third pereiopod relatively slender; ischium with small ventrolateral spine (fig. 11); merus about 4.5 times as long as wide; carpus slightly less than half length of merus, without spines; propodus significantly longer than carpus but much shorter than merus, ventral margin with 3-4 spines, dorsolateral margin with row of elongate setae (fig. 12); dactylus about half propodus length, subspatulate (fig. 12). Fourth pereiopod generally similar to third. Fifth pereiopod small, slender; ischium unarmed (fig. 13); carpus 0.75 length of merus; propodus with dense setal brush (fig. 13), without spines. First pleopod with relatively small endopod (especially in males). Second pleopod with appendices masculina and interna in males (fig. 14). Uropod with lateral lobe of protopod ending in acute point; exopod and endopod broad, rounded; diaeresis of exo- pod almost straight, lateral portion with small, broadly subtriangular lobe adjacent to slender distolateral spine (fig. 17). Telson broad, almost rectangular (only slightly taper- ing posteriorly), dorsal spines well developed, situated centrally, i.e. at some distance from lateral margins (fig. 18), first pair more or less at telson mid-length or slightly in front, second pair at 0.75 telson length (right posterior spine missing in illustrated spec- imen, cf. fig. 18); posterior margin broadly rounded, each posterolateral angle with two spines: one minuscule lateral spine and one stronger and longer mesial spine, latter still significantly smaller than dorsal spines of telson (fig. 18). Size. — Medium-size species of Alpheus: CL of males ranging from 6.0 mm to 10.0 mm, CL of females ranging from 7.0 to 8.7 mm; TL of largest specimens approaching 40 mm. Colour. — Carapace and abdomen pale olive-greenish, semitransparent; major and minor chelae pale yellow-greenish, much darker distally (fingers of major chela dark olive-green); walking legs semitransparent straw-yellowish; uropods with patch of in- tense blue chromatophores across posterior half (based on colour photograph provided by J. Gardiner). Etymology. — The specific name lutosus (Latin adjective for “muddy” or “in mud”) refers to the preference of this species for muddy habitats. Ecology. — Alpheus lutosus spec. nov. is relatively common in the intertidal and estuarine mudflats of the Shatt-Al-Arab delta, in burrows made under stones or in muddy banks, sometimes associated with the goby Acentrogobius dayi Koumans, 1944 ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 815 07 08 2009 09:39 816 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) (identified by R. Winterbottom, ROM). Most likely, Acentrogobius dayi does not estab- lish body contact with the snapping shrimp and belongs to the category of so-called “facultative” shrimp gobies (see Karplus, 1992). Two other species of Alpheus have been observed syntopically at the type locality: A. cf. lobidens De Haan, 1849 and A. cf. rapax Fabricius, 1798 (D. T. Jones, pers. comm.). Distribution. — Presently known only from Kuwait: Bubiyan Island, southwest of Shatt-Al-Arab delta, and Al Jahrah in Kuwait Bay (west of Kuwait City); most likely also occurring in the Iraqi and Iranian side of the Shatt-Al-Arab delta. Remarks. — Alpheus lutosus spec. nov. is assumed to be closely related to A. hoplo- cheles from China and Japan (Coutière, 1897; Miya, 1995; Liu & He, 2007). These two species differ from all other species of the A. edwardsii group by the presence of a sharp distal tooth on the mesial side of the otherwise typical edwardsii-type major chela. They also have many other features in common, such as the subspatulate dactyli on the third to fifth pereiopods; the well developed, posteriorly non-flattened rostrum, the ischium of the third and fourth pereiopods bearing a small spine; as well as the well developed balaeniceps condition of the male minor chela. However, A. hoplocheles may be distin- guished from A. lutosus spec. nov. by the presence of a strong, protruding and sharp distal tooth also on the lateral side of the palm of the major chela (Miya, 1995; see also Liu & He, 2007); in A. lutosus spec. nov., this tooth is not protruding and rounded (cf. fig. 3). Furthermore, in A. hoplocheles, the major chela has a more protruding ventral shoulder, with a more pronounced, narrower groove on the lateral side of the palm; similarly, the dorsal shoulder is sharper and more overhanging (compare Miya, 1995 and figs. 3-4). Another important distinguishing feature is the ventral armature of the propodus of the third and fourth pereiopods: in A. hoplocheles, the propodus is armed with nine spines (including the distoventral spine) vs. only three or four spines in A. lutosus spec. nov. In addition, in A. hoplocheles, the rostrum appears to be slightly longer, just falling short of the first segment of the antennular peduncle; the stylocerite is also longer; the lateral margin of the scaphocerite is somewhat more concave; the rostral carina is better marked, extending to about 0.7 CL (vs. 0.23-0.38 CL in A. lutosus spec. nov.); the proportion palm/fingers of the major claw is approximately 1.3/1 (vs. 1.7/1 in A. lutosus spec. nov.); the proportion palm/fingers of the female minor chela (based on female lectotype) is close to 1/1.3 (vs. close to 1/1 in A. lutosus spec. nov.); the ratio of carpal segments in the second pereiopod is approximately 3/2.5/1/1/1.4 (vs. 4/2.5/1/1/1.5 in A. lutosus spec. nov.); and the proportion propodus/dactylus of the third pereiopod is approximately 2.4/1 (vs. ~2/1 in A. lutosus spec. nov.). Finally, the two species appear to be geographically widely separated, A. hoplocheles occurring from central Japan to southern China, whilst A. lutosus spec. nov. is presently known only from the western Persian Gulf. Acknowledgements We thank Dr David T. Jones (previously at University College North Wales, Bangor, UK), who collected most of the specimens; Rick Winterbottom (Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada), who identified the associated goby; Jamie Gardiner for the colour photo and Gustav Paulay (FLMNH) for the financial support (in the form of a postdoc- toral fellowship) to the first author. ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 816 07 08 2009 09:39 Anker & De Grave. A new snapping shrimp from Kuwait. Zool. Med. Leiden 83 (2009) 817 References Banner, A.H. & D.M. Banner, 1966. Contributions to the knowledge of the alpheid shrimp of the Pacific Ocean, part X: Collections from Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.— Pacific Science 20: 145-188. Banner, D.M. & A.H. Banner, 1981. 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The systematics and ecology of the decapods of Dubai, and their zoogeographic re- lationships to the Arabian Gulf and the western Indian Ocean: 1-292. Unpublished PhD Disserta- tion, Texas A&M University. ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 817 07 08 2009 09:39 ZM83 811-818 Anker De Grave.indd 818 07 08 2009 09:39