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Family: Alpheidae
Snapping Shrimp
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Bocas Species Database Habitat: This species is not commonly found. It favors rocky or sandy with rock habitats where coral rubble are present in abundance. Distribution: The first specimen was reported from the region of Bocas del Toro, Panama, and was also reported from Costa Rica. However, it is thought that this species would be more widespread. Natural History Notes: Alpheus geminirostratus has not been officially described yet (Anker et al., in prep.) but we know that is belongs to the A. rostratus sub-complex. Its sister is thought to be A. pararostratus and differs from it by having the chromatophore ring on the sixth abdominal somite completely closed, whereas A. pararostratus is not completely closed. Panama is a prime location to conduct various studies on geographic isolations and speciation, because of its incredible geographical situation, with the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific separated by the Isthmus of Panama. In 1993, an interesting study, conducted by Knowlton et al., looked at the biochemical and reproductive divergence of 7 pairs of closely related species of shrimps from the genus Alpheus that are separated by the Isthmus of Panama. A pair would be composed of transisthmian sister species. The authors looked at the divergence in allozymes, mitochondrial DNA and reproductive compatibility. The results showed that the 4 pairs of sister species that were the least divergent could be used to estimate rates of speciation and divergence. In the case of the 3 remaining pairs, the authors suggest that divergence would have occurred even before the land barrier of Panama was completed. Characteristics: Alpheus geminirostratus has a total body length of 13 mm. |