Abstract
Synalpheus fritzmuelleri Couti?re apparently is one of the most widely distributed alpheids. The typical form is known from North Carolina and Bermuda to Florida and throughout the West Indies to Cura?ao (Williams, 1965). Stephensen (1950) found it off Greenland, and Couti?re (1909) recorded it from the waters off Lower California. The species is commonly found in sponges such as Colly sp on gia vaginalis (Lamarck) (Wass, 1955), but is also often found free-living around rocks, particularly in shallow water. Its known vertical range extends to 72 meters (Abele, unpublished). During December, 1970 the author collected a series of sea fans (Gorgonia ventalina Linnaeus) from shallow reefs surrounding the Fowey Rocks area of the northern Florida Keys. The underside of the bases of these fans contained a large variety of invertebrate life. Various polychaetes, sipunculids, sponges, foramini ferans, mollusks and crustaceans were common. The diversity increased with the size of the area of the gorgonian base, and under larger fans the prosobranch mollusk Coralliophila caribaea Abbott was characteristically found. Several G. ventalina were also found with pairs of Synalpheus fritzmuelleri under them orienting ventrally to the underside of the fan. A glass-bottomed aquarium was used to observe their behavior.
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