Leptalpheus felderi, Anker & Vera Caripe & Lira, 2006

Anker, Arthur, Vera Caripe, Jonathan A. & Lira, Carlos, 2006, Description of a new species of commensal alpheid shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda) from the southern Caribbean Sea, Zoosystema 28 (3), pp. 683-702 : 697-698

With L. felderi n. sp., the genus Leptalpheus contains six nominal species, the others being L. forceps , L. pacificus , L. mexicanus , L. axianassae and L. petronii . The latter two species have been suspected to be synonymous (D. Felder pers. comm.; see below), while numerous other species are undescribed ( Felder et al. 2003; Anker 2001; see Table 1). The presently monotypic genus Fenneralpheus Felder & Manning, 1986 is closely related to Leptalpheus (Felder & Manning

Anker A. et al.

1986; Anker 2001; Felder et al. 2003) and also contains undescribed species ( Felder et al. 2003). The American species of Leptalpheus and Fenneralpheus are currently under study by D. Felder and R. Robles, while two Indo-West Pacific species, including an undescribed species from the Philippines, are currently under study by the first author. Three literature records of Leptalpheus species , the taxonomic status of L. petronii and the relationships between Leptalpheus and Fenneralpheus are briefly discussed here.

LEPTALPHEUS FORCEPS Muñoz Alcala & Blanco Rambla (2000) reported L. forceps from burrows of Upogebia omissa in the Ensenada Grande del Obispo, Golfo de Cariaco, Estado Sucre (mainland Venezuela, south of Isla Margarita). The identity of the specimens from Obispo remains uncertain, as they could belong to L. forceps , L. felderi n. sp. or to one of the several undescribed Caribbean species ( Leptalpheus spp. 1 -3 aff. forceps in Table 1). One of these undescribed species ( Leptalpheus sp. 2 aff. forceps in Table 1) was recently collected on the island of La Tortuga by one of us (CL). This specimen was associated with a large callianassid, probably Glypthurus acanthochirus Stimpson, 1866 or Neocallichirus grandimanus (Gibbes, 1850) (C. Lira pers. obs.). Thus, at least two species of Leptalpheus are present in Venezuelan waters.

LEPTALPHEUS MEXICANUS

The record of L.mexicanus from Bahía Málaga,Pacific coast of Colombia ( Ramos 1995), is doubtful. The illustrated specimen ( Ramos 1995: fig.1) shows clear differences with the type specimen of L. mexicanus from Río Mulegé, Baja California Sur, Mexico (cf. Ríos & Carvacho 1983). The most important differences are the much narrower and elongated frontal margin, the juxtaposed eyestalks (separated in L. mexicanus ) and the stylocerite distinctly overreaching the distal margin of the first segment of the antennular peduncle (not even reaching this margin in L. mexicanus ). In our opinion, Ramos’ specimen certainly represents an undescribed species closely related to L. mexicanus ( Leptalpheus sp. 5