Color Photographs for Morphological and Developmental Differences in Three Species of the Snapping Shrimp Genus Alpheus (Crustacea, Decapoda)

Living, freshly collected individuals of three species of snapping shrimps were studied to determine any differing morphological, developmental, and ecological features: Alpheus heterochaelis, collected from Beaufort, NC; A. angulosus, found mainly in Jacksonville, FL, but also at one site in Beaufort; and A. estuariensis, collected at another Jacksonville site. Structural characteristics of these superficially similar species are summarized, with particular attention to coloration. Adult A. angulosus individuals have blue-green 2nd antennal flagella (vs. tan in the other two species) that are significantly shorter than those of A. heterochaelis. Alpheus angulosus and A. estuariensis bear smaller eggs (1 mm), and the former species displays the zoea larval form typical of alpheids (vs. abbreviated larval development in A. heterochaelis).