Synalpheus williamsi Ríos and Duffy, 1999
Synalpheus williamsi is a sponge-dwelling Caribbean snapping shrimp, with a streamlined body well-adapted to life in the interior canals of sponges. S. williamsi appears to be a host specialist on the sponge Hymeniacidon caerulea, and often has traces of this dark blue sponge visible in its gut.
Synalpheus williamsi is a member of the Gambarelloides species group within the genus Synalpheus. This species is named after Austin B. Williams. Type locality: Carrie Bow Cay, Belize (Rios and Duffy 2007), types stored at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). Holotype: USNM 276158, allotype: USNM 276159.
Associate of sponges (phylum Porifera), primarily the sponge species Hymeniacidon caerulea and an unidentified yellow tube sponge (Macdonald et al. 2006, Rios and Duffy 2007).
Like most species in the Alpheidae family, Synalpheus williamsi are typically found in heterosexual pairs and disperse via swimming larvae (Duffy and Macdonald 2010).
Like most members of the Gambarelloides species group, Synalpheus williamsi has a streamlined body adapted to living in sponge canals and a thick brush of setae on the minor chela (claw). Maximum body size (carapace length, or CL) of males is 4.4 mm; females, 4.8 mm (Rios and Duffy 2007). Color: Body translucent gold to gold-brown; traces of blue (from the host sponge) often present in the gut; ovaries and embryos green (Rios and Duffy 2007, Macdonald et al. 2009).
Zuzalpheus williamsi (Rios and Duffy 2007).
Synalpheus williamsi is a member of the Gambarelloides species group within the genus Synalpheus. Monophyletic in the Western Atlantic (Morrison et al. 2004), this group is a model system for examining the evolution of social behavior (Duffy et al. 2000, Duffy and Macdonald 2010).
Sequenced in Morrison et al. 2004 (as willBE02); sequences available in GenBank for COI mtDNA (AF230795).
Western Atlantic: San Blas Islands (Caribbean Panama), Belize Barrier Reef (Rios and Duffy 2007); Jamaica (Macdonald et al. 2009); Curaçao (Hultgren et al. in press).