Synalpheus yano (Ríos and Duffy, 2007)
Synalpheus yano is a Caribbean snapping shrimp that dwells primarily in the interior canals of sponges. Like other sponge-dwelling snapping shrimp, S. yano has a streamlined body shape well-adapted to life in sponge canals. S. yano has been reported from Caribbean Panama and Belize, and inhabits the sponge hosts Lissodendoryx colombiensis and Hymeniacdion caerulea.
Synalpheus yano is a member of the Gambarelloides species group within the genus Synalpheus. The species name is derived from a Mayan word for "another" or "different." Type locality: Twin Cays, Belize Barrier Reef (Rios and Duffy 2007), types stored at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution (USNM). Holotype: USNM 1019055, allotype: USNM 1019056.
Associate of sponges (phylum Porifera), primarily the sponge species Lissodendoryx colombiensis and Hymeniacidon caerulea (Macdonald et al. 2006, Rios and Duffy 2007).
Like most species in the Alpheidae family, Synalpheus yano are typically found in heterosexual pairs and disperse via swimming larvae (Duffy and Macdonald 2010).
Like most members of the Gambarelloides species group, Synalpheus yano 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 6.0 mm (holotype); females, 7.2 mm (allotype) (Rios and Duffy 2007). Color: Body dull orange-brown to reddish; distal tips of major first chela brown; ovaries and embryos dark red (Rios and Duffy 2007).
Synalpheus sp. 6 (Rios 2003), Synalpheus "pandionis small", (Morrison et al. 2004); Zuzalpheus yano (Rios and Duffy 2007.
Synalpheus yano 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 and Macdonald 2010).
Sequenced in Morrison et al. 2004 (as lnpnBE01); sequences available in GenBank for 16S mtDNA (AY344756 ) and COI mtDNA (AY344718).
Western Atlantic: Belize (Rios and Duffy, 2007); possibly Jamaica (Macdonald et al. 2009); Bocas del Toro, Panama (Hernáez et al. in press).