To the light side: molecular diversity and morphology of stomatopod larvae and juveniles (Crustacea: Malacostraca: Stomatopoda) from crustose coralline algal reefs in Taiwan

Abstract

Biology of planktonic stomatopod larvae has long remained poorly understood and often considered “black boxes” in life history studies. From coralline crustose algal (CCA) reefs at Datan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, using light traps recently designed, we collected considerable number of stomatopod larvae and juveniles. Applying DNA barcoding techniques using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequences, 14 morphotypes were revealed to represent 12 distinct species, seven of which identified to species level by comparing against reference sequences available from online source (GenBank), whereas the other five do not cluster with any known sequences. All stomatopod larvae and juveniles were described and illustrated. We report Manningia pilaensis (De Man, 1888) and Levisquilla jurichi (Makarov, 1979) as new records of the stomatopod fauna of Taiwan and confirm the validity of Lysiosquillina maculata (Fabricius, 1793). Based on material we acquired from light traps, which include propelagic antizoea larvae (of L. maculata), and also postlarval and juvenile forms (of various squillid species), both positively phototactic, indicating the current understanding of negative-positive-negative phototactic tendency from early planktonic to postlarval stages through the development of stomatopod larvae, might not be as distinct as previously described.