New records of the shrimp Periclimenes crinoidalis Chace, 1969 (Decapoda: Palaemonidae) and its crinoid host Nemaster grandis A.H. Clark, 1909 (Echinodermata: Crinoidea) in the Caribbean Sea

Abstract

Abstract During exploratory trips conducted between August and December 2016, six shrimps, found in association with the crinoid Nemaster grandis A.H. Clark, 1909, ere collected in Chichiriviche de la Costa, Vargas State (Venezuela). A photographic record of the crinoids and the shrimps was conducted in situ. Shrimps were preserved in ethyl alcohol 90% and carried to the Laboratorio de Carcinología de la Universidad de Oriente, Núcleo Nueva Esparta. Once in the laboratory, the shrimps were taxonomically described and sexed. Shrimps were identified as Periclimenes crinoidalis Chace, 1969, constituting the first record of this species in Venezuelan waters. These findings also expand the known distribution range for the crinoid N. grandis in Venezuela, where the species exhibits two morphotypes, one of them not previously described. Additionally, a table with the species of decapods found associated with echinoderms in Venezuela is provided.

Keywords

• Caridea
• association
• biodiversity
• echinoderm
• Venezuela