A revision of the genus Alpheus revealed 53 nominal species reported from the eastern Pacific. Of these, 23 species are considered valid and an additional 21 new species are described, resulting in 44 eastern Pacific species. A key to all 44 species is provided. Forty four species are described and 41 are illustrated. / Currently seven nominal "groups" (Macrocheles, Sulcatus, Obesomanus, Crinitus, Diadema, Brevirostris, and Edwardsii groups) have been used by various authors as a means of separating the large number of species (more than 250) in the genus Alpheus. Morphological similarities among 37 species representing the seven "groups" were examined using 68 characters. An analysis using UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages) does not clearly group the eastern Pacific species into the currently recognized groups. In general, the Macrocheles group is isolated from the other groups, Edwardsii and Crinitus groups are discrete and Sulcatus group is a heterogeneous group. / The species occur in a variety of habitats including coral (18 species), rocky intertidal (29 species), mangroves (3 species), and sand-mud (21 species). Most species occur in several habitats while a few (e.g. Alpheus lottini) are found only in a single habitat. / Seventy seven percent of the species are endemic to the eastern Pacific while 11% also occur on both coasts of the Atlantic. Five percent are shared with the Indo-West Pacific and 2% each with the western Atlantic, eastern Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific and all other tropical regions. Within the eastern Pacific, species of Alpheus occur as far north as Horseshoe Cave, Sonora County, California and as far south as Puerto Montt, Chile. Twenty species occur in the Galapagos Islands of which only one is apparently endemic. The greatest number of species (33) is found in the subregion between about 12(DEGREES)N and 2(DEGREES)N (Costa Rica, Panama, Columbia) with the number decreasing north and south of this subregion. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-01, Section: B, page: 0100. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75760 |
| Contributors | KIM, WON., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 456 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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