The present article deals with morphological comparison of four species of shrimp larvae, such as Neocrangon communis and Mesocrangon intermedia, Crangon dalli and C. septemspinosa, inhabiting the Okhotsk Sea and north-western part of the Pacific Ocean. Morphological comparison of I-V zoeal stages is discussed. The main morphological differences of the appropriate larval stages are detected. Mo...

Most coral-associated decapod species have non-migratory adult populations and depend on their planktonic larvae for dispersal. This study examined the metapopulation structure of three decapod species with different pelagic larval duration (PLD) from twelve coral reef complexes of the Gulf of Mexico. The dispersion of larvae was analyzed through the use of a realistic numerical simulation of t...

New records are presented for the caridean shrimp family Processidae in Indo-West and East Pacific waters, based mainly on recently collected material. These records highlight that many processid species may be relatively widespread, although the distribution of some species remains imperfectly known. The colour pattern of several species is here documented for the first time, showing its poten...

The zoeal and the megalopal stages of the land hermit crab Coenobita violascens Heller, 1862 are described and illustrated from laboratory-reared material, and compared with larvae of nine other described coenobitid species. The larvae developed through four planktonic zoeal stages to the megalopal stage. Coenobita violascens had characteristics of zoeal pleomeres and megalopal antennules typic...

Invertebrates are a very diverse group of animals, showing a wide spectrum of life strategies and adaptations. They often exhibit very complex behavioural and social patterns. In crayfish, the largest freshwater invertebrates, we found a new behavioural pattern, burying their own exuviae after moulting. Such a pattern may be an as yet unrecognized type of hoarding or caching. The buried exuvia ...

Procambarus (Girardiella) holifieldi, new species, is a primary burrowing crayfish from a low-lying field in Perry County, Alabama. It belongs to the Hagenianus Group in the subgenus Girardiella.  The new species is morphologically most similar to Procambarus (Girardiella) barbiger.  They differ in the size and shape of the caudal processes.  Procambarus barbiger has a beard along the mesial ma...

Habitats in the sea, in freshwater, and on land differ dramatically in species composition and diversity. Of the roughly 1.5 million known species of macroscopic organisms on earth, the modern ocean — despite its much larger area and volume — supports only about 15% of species, whereas terrestrial environments account for about 80% of species, and freshwater for the remaining 5% (Figure 1). Eve...

Two deep-water species of caridean shrimps collected during recent dives by the Chinese manned submersible "Jiaolong" represents new records for the South China Sea: Alvinocaris longirostris Kikuchi & Ohta, 1995 (Alvinocarididae) and Acanthephyra faxoni Calman, 1939 (Acanthephyridae). Specimens of these two species were collected from Jiaolong Cold Seep I, off Guangdong Province, China (depth 1...

The deep sea shrimp genus Nematocarcinus Milne Edwards, 1881 includes 47 species, ten of them have been recorded from the Atlantic Ocean. Herein, material sampled during three scientific projects (REVIZEE Central Fishery project; Campos Basin Deep Sea Environmental Project; Evaluation of Environmental Heterogeneity in the Campos Basin) made in the Southwestern Atlantic, off Brazil, is examined....

The number of decapod species associated with the coral Pocillopora damicornis is compared between two regions on the Pacific coast of Panama which are of the same geologic age but differ in environmental characteristics. The relationship between number of species and coral head size does not differ between the two regions but species composition among coral heads is more variable in the fluctu...