Distribution and morphological characteristics of Exopalaemon styliferus and Periclimenes brevicarpalis larva species (Caridea: Palaemonidae) in the estuaries of Bahmanshir and Arvand Rivers in the northern part of Persian Gulf

The survey on distribution of family Palaemonidae was taken place from March 2011 to October 2012 in vicinity of Bahmanshir and Arvand estuaries in north of the Persian Gulf. Planktonic larvae of palaemonidae were collected using 0.45 m diameter plankton net with 300μm mesh size monthly horizontal towing 100 meter. The larval stages illustrated and described in detail for Exopalaemon styliferus and Periclimenes brevicarpalis. Moreover, the species of larval density was calculated at different stations and months. The most abundant species E. styliferus and P. brevicarplis with 29.42 Ind/m3 and 11.08 Ind/m3 were calculated in August and May, respectively. The significant positive correlation between temperature and frequency of E. styliferus was found that confirming the effect of temperature on the distribution of E. styliferus larvae. Also, correlation coefficients between salinity and Palaemonidae especially P. brevicarplis showed a significant positive relationship, confirming that the effect of both temperature and salinity on the larvae of this family.