Brazilian researchers discover new shrimp species — MercoPress

Brazilian researchers discover new shrimp species

Genetic testing confirmed it was in fact a new species (Image: UFPE)

Scientists from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) in Brazil have reportedly discovered a new species of buffalo shrimp, which they named Alpheus Coralvivo after the Living Coral Project.

The crustacean is said to live in coral reefs off the coast of northeastern Brazil. It was found in cavities in the limestone skeletons of fire corals and in coral gravels along the southern coast of Bahia and Rio Grande do Norte.

The Living Coral Project initiative has been working for over two decades for the protection and conservation of marine biota, particularly coral reefs.

Scientists observed the animal’s morphology and compared it to other nearby species, and also performed genetic tests that confirmed it was indeed a new species.

“This discovery expands the data on known animal diversity in Brazil and around the world and also contributes to conservation studies of marine species,” said researcher Patricia Souza dos Santos, professor at the UFPE Graduate Program in Biology of Animals (PPGBA).

The term “stalk shrimp” is applied to marine shrimps of the family Ascidianidae that usually live in rocks or caves. The name comes from the fact that these shrimps are among the most developed chelicerae and that when they feed, they produce a violent thumping sound and a shock wave that can kill their prey.

In his article “Morphological and molecular evidence reveal hidden diversity in the Alpheus obesomanus group (Decapoda: Alpheidae) and describe a new species from Brazil”, Souza dos Santos states that the new species was identified after analyzing material collected by hand and diving.

The researchers found it at a depth of 12 meters in the coral reefs of Porto Seguro, Santa Cruz Cabrália and Abrolhos in Bahia, and Parajos de Maracaja in Rio Grande do Norte.

“Registering a new species is an important event in itself. This is even more true for the marine environment, which is still very poorly studied compared to terrestrial environments. Every study leads to new scientific discoveries,” emphasizes Sousa.

The study was carried out by the UFPE Crustacean Biology Laboratory (LBC), the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) Cancer Laboratory, the Ribeirão Preto School of Philosophy, Science and Letters (FFCLRP/USP) Crustacean Biotechnology and Systematics and the Federal Polytechnic University of Paraná (UTFPR) Environmental Genomics, all of which were funded by Facepe (APQ-Facepe), CNPq (Edital Universal) and Fapesp (Projeto Biota Fapesp). (Source: Diario de Pernambuco)