Synalpheus paradoxus Banner and Banner, 1981
Synalpheus paradoxus is an Indo-West Pacific snapping shrimp first described from Negus Salomon, Red Sea (Banner and Banner 1981). This species has been collected in reproductively skewed "colonies" (100+ males and 1-2 ovigerous females) in sponges, suggesting it may have a eusocial lifestyle similar to several other species of Synalpheus from the West Atlantic.
Synalpheus paradoxus was first described from Negus Salomon, Red Sea by Banner and Banner (1981). The species name refers to the paraxodical sex ratio in this species. Types stored at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden (RMNH). Type: RMNH D32943.
This species has been collected in large colonies (100+ individuals) living in sponges, to 15 fm depth (Banner and Banner 1981).
This species has been collected in reproductively skewed "colonies" (100+ males and 1-2 ovigerous females) in sponges (Banner and Banner 1981), suggesting it may have a eusocial lifestyle similar to several other species of Synalpheus from the West Atlantic (Duffy 1998).
Maximum body size is 16 mm total length (Banner and Banner 1981). This species can be easily distinguished by the number of carpal articles on the second pereopod varies (typically 4, sometimes 5); most specimens with 4 articles on the carpus of the second pereopod belong to the Gambarelloides species group, most common in the West Atlantic (Banner and Banner 1981). It can be separated from other 4-articled species in the Pacific (S. redactocarpus and S. quadriarticulatus) by the tooth above the articulation of the dactulus of the large chela (Banner and Banner 1981).
Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea (Banner and Banner 1981).