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Family: Alpheidae
Snapping Shrimp
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Bocas Species Database Habitat: Alpheus websteri will favor habitats such as rocky bottoms mixed with corals, coral rubbles and rocks. It will hide in coral and rock crevices. Distribution: This species has been reported from the tropical and subtropical western Atlantic Ocean, from the south of Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean Sea to southern Brazil. In Panama, this species has been reported from Bocas del Toro and Isla Grande. Natural History Notes: Alpheus websteri is closely related to A. arenensis and A. fagei and is slightly different from those two species. A. websteri can be differentiated from A. arenensis by the stouter shape of the tooth present on the merus of the major claw; it is differentiated from A. fagei by the longer ventrolateral tooth present on the antenna. Alpeus websteri is also often confused with A.thomasi in regions where they occur sympatrically. However, they can be differentiated if we look carefully at the color pattern and if we compare some morphological characteristics such as the shape of the major and minor chelas and by the shape of the rostrum. Characteristics: Alpheus websteri has an average body length of 25 mm. This species has smooth carapace that shows no setose and that is not compressed laterally as it is usually observed in other species of Alpheus. The rostrum is relatively short and the orbital hoods are slightly inflated and have some teeth. Due to the presence of furrows, the eyes are concealed when we look at the animal from a dorsal, lateral and frontal view. The mouthparts are typical for Alpheus species. Then, we can see that the carpus has a cup shape for both male and female, but the carpus is a little bit more slender in the female. The color pattern consists in a pale grey to whitish background. The carapace shows two prominent transversal brown bands, which change direction along the carapace flanks. Around the orbital hoods, we can distinguish two small, short bands. The rostrum is brownish and the abdomen is striped with 6 large brown transversal bands. However, the sixth abdominal somite is completely brown. Then, the tail fan is purple-brown with white areas and cream yellow spots. The dorsal spines are yellowish or whitish and the walking legs are pinkish. Finally, the minor chela is brown-orange on the palm and dark brown on the fingers toward the tip. The juveniles have a similar color pattern but show narrower bands on the abdomen. Notes: Alpheus websteri is not commonly found and will generally live in pairs male-female under a rocks or in corals. |