DESCRIPTION OF ALPHEUS BELLULUS SP. NOV. ASSOCIATED WITH GOBIES FROM JAPAN (CRUSTACEA, DECAPODA, ALPHEIDAE)

Abstract

During the visit of the first author, Y. MIYA, to the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, Kyoto University in the summer of 1967 he was compelled attention to Dr. Eiji HARADA'S story of an association of a snapping shrimp with gobies, on which Dr. HARADA was then making observations. According to HARADA'S informations, that snapping shrimp occurred commonly associated with some gobies in burrows on the sandy bottom of shallow sublittoral areas near the Laboratory and Ezura about 1 km east from there in Tanabe Bay. MIYA had not enough time to make his own observations on this association and to collect that snapping shrimp, but Dr. HARADA kindly offered him three specimens of the shrimp for identification. On examination of these specimens it was found that the shrimp was a species of the brevirostris group, apparently new to science. Recently another specimen of the same species was found unexpectedly in a small collection of decapod crustaceans from Kagoshima Bay, which was presented to the present authors through the courtesy of Dr. Toshio SAISHO. The specimen was collected by Dr. Kantaro NAKAHARA, who kindly informed the authors on inquiry that the specimen was found living in association with a goby in shallow water of Kaminose in Kagoshima Bay as in the case of HARADA'S observations and submitted them his records of field observations. The present paper is restricted to the taxonomical description of this new species including its colouration in life. The ecological notes of the species, such as habitat and distribution, associated occurrence of the snapping shrimp and gobioid fishes, burrowing behaviour, and interspecific relationships, will be fully discussed upon sufficient data by Dr. HARADA in the next article of this number (Publ. Seto Mar. Biol. Lab., XVI (5) 315-334, 1969). The holotype is deposited at the museum of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory