Lysmata vittata (Stimpson, 1860)

Guéron, Rodrigo, Almeida, Alexandre Oliveira, Aguilar, Robert, Ogburn, Matthew B., Prakash, Sanjeevi & Baeza, J. Antonio, 2022, Delimiting species within the Lysmata vittata (Stimpson, 1860) (Decapoda: Lysmatidae) species complex in a world full of invaders, Zootaxa 5150 (2), pp. 189-216 : 205-206

Lysmata vittata is native to the northwestern Indo-Pacific and exotic to the USA and New Zealand

We confirmed the occurrence of L. vittata in the USA, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and New Zealand. We posit this species is native in its type locality of Hong Kong and throughout large portions of the northwestern Indo-Pacific and introduced in the western Atlantic and New Zealand. While additional directed sampling and/or historical review of museum collections is needed to fully establish the full current and historical distribution, it appears that L. vittata is currently found from China northeastward to the Sea of Japan. It is noteworthy these areas are primarily temperate, but also subtropical, as are the portions of the USA and New Zealand where L. vittata has become established. We further posit that this likely reflects habitat preferences of this species and sheds light on the natural distribution and invasion potential of L. vittata .

Upon initial discovery in New Zealand, L. vittata was presumed native because it was assumed to be naturally distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific and individuals in New Zealand may have been misidentified as L. morelandi Yaldwin 1971 ( Ahyong 2010) . Given that we have now classified L. vittata as native to the northwestern Indo-Pacific, we posit that this species is likely introduced to New Zealand via international shipping (see also Aguilar et al. [2022]). In this study, we analyzed specimens that were collected within the biogeographic province of Auckland, located in the North Island of New Zealand. This province exhibits an affinity, in terms of species composition, with southeastern and southwestern Australia, but not with more northern/tropical biogeographic provinces, such as the Indo-Polynesian or Sino-Japanese ( Waters et al. 2007; Briggs & Bowen 2012). However, New Zealand is extremely vulnerable to the introductions of marine species given its high dependence on maritime transport for trade ( Gordon et al. 2010; Wilkens & Ahyong 2011). Currently, at least 110 non-indigenous crustacean species have been identified in the archipelago ( Wilkens & Ahyong 2011). A number of these species share similar distributions with L. vittata , such as the crab Charybdis japonica A. Milne-Edwards 1861 ( Froglia 2012) , which was assumed introduced through ballast water of cargo ships ( Smith et al. 2003). Interestingly, the first record of C. japonica was at Waitemata Harbor, which is less than 6 km away from Viaduct Harbor and Westhaven Marina —locations where L. vittata was collected ( Smith et al. 2003; Ahyong 2010). Both areas are close to one of New Zealand’s busiest ports, where there is an enormous volume of ballast water releases ( Inglis 2001). Additionally, L. californica Stimpson 1866 , a Lysmata species native to the temperate eastern Pacific has recently become established around port areas in northern New Zealand (sympatric with L. vittata ) and ballast water is the assumed introduction vector ( Aguilar et al. 2022).

The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the USA, is another sensitive area for aquatic invasions. According to the National Exotic Marine and Estuarine Species Information System (NEMESIS), 176 non-indigenous or cryptogenic species across various taxa have been reported in and around the tidal waters of Chesapeake Bay ( Fofonoff et al. 2021). The main invasion routes are ballast water, boat hull fouling, and trading of live organisms ( Densmore 2020). In the Chesapeake Bay, L vittata has been collected near the major shipping terminals around Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia ( Aguilar et al. 2022). Moreover, the Chesapeake Bay has been sampled extensively for over two centuries and it is unlikely L. vittata remained unnoticed even given its superficial similarity to the native congener, L. wurdemanni ( Aguilar et al. 2022) . While Lysmata species are extremely common in the aquarium trade ( Calado et al. 2003), it is unlikely that this was the introduction vector for L. vittata in both the USA and New Zealand ( Aguilar et al. 2022).