ABSTRACT
The accurate assignment of cryptic larvae to species-level is a key aspect of marine ecological research and can be achieved through integrated molecular and morphological studies. A combination of two mitochondrial markers (COI and 16S) and a detailed morphological analysis was used to identify phyllosoma larvae of slipper lobster (Scyllaridae) species collected during a survey in the SW Indian Ocean. Two morphotypes were tentatively assigned to Acantharctus ornatus and Biarctus pumilus, both genera for which the larval morphology was unknown. Morphological revision of an adult specimen used to generate the putative A. ornatus sequences in GenBank revealed that it was misidentified and corresponds to B. dubius. The final phyllosoma stage of B. pumilus and subfinal and final stages of A. ornatus were described, clarifying prior misidentifications in the literature. Scyllarid biodiversity in the SW Indian Ocean is underestimated and sampling of deeper water layers is recommended to complete current knowledge of species and larval stages present in the region.
ABSTRACT
Scyllarides has the largest number of species with commercial importance within the Scyllaridae family. As for other achelate lobsters, however, little is known of the unique long-lived planktonic phyllosoma stages of any of these tropical and temperate species. Recently, a large and diverse collection of Scyllaridae phyllosoma, compiled from cruises along the Coral Sea and spanning several years, has been analysed. Molecular evidence from DNA-barcoding and phylogenetic analyses is provided here on the identity of S. squammosus phyllosoma larvae, including stages that were previously undescribed or poorly known. As a consequence, the growth and morphological changes that occur during the mid- to late-stages of S. squammosus larval development is now well-documented. Furthermore, an additional collection of S. squammosus larvae, described by Alain Michel and thought to be no longer extant, were discovered in the crustacean collection of the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. This new molecular and morphological information is complemented by a review of the literature. As a result, descriptions of key larval characters by a number of authors were evaluated and appear to suggest the existence of distinct groups of larvae within Scyllarides. From a combination of adult and larval morphology, and molecular data, the results presented here revealed inconsistencies with regard to the affinities of species assigned to Scyllarides. This new evidence will contribute to future studies addressing the phylogenetic relationships within the genus.
