A new record of Harlequin Shrimp (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Palaemonidae: Hymenocera picta Dana, 1852) in the southern Mexican Pacific Reefs

Abstract

The Harlequin Shrimp Hymenocera picta is abundant in the Indo-Pacific and Central Pacific regions, but there are few reports of it from the eastern Pacific. Two pairs of the Harlequin Shrimp were observed feeding on the Sea Star Phataria unifascialis (Gray, 1840) in the reefs of Huatulco National Park, Mexican Pacific. This paper reports the occurrence of H. picta in Mexican Pacific waters and extends its previous distribution by 1,270km north of El Ocotal, Costa Rica in the eastern Pacific equatorial zone. In addition, we evaluate the potential distribution of H. picta along the tropical eastern Pacific using the Maximum-Entropy modelling algorithm.

Keywords

• caridea
• coral reefs
• harlequin shrimp
• huatulco national park
• sea star predator.